


Worth a Try

by bdelizabeth



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Chill!Lena, College AU, Drunk flirting, Everybody is Queer, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Rugby!Kara, SuperCorp, Tropes Everywhere, and have major usnwt vibes, and normal flirting, because half of the team are Legends, because of who i am as a person, crossover sorta?, not a cheating fic, rugby au, sports AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2020-10-25 15:26:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 56,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20726453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bdelizabeth/pseuds/bdelizabeth
Summary: After following her boyfriend to National City for a new job, Lena Luthor crosses paths with the university’s star rugby player, Kara Danvers. When the two’s fast friendship blurs into something more, Lena must make the hard decision between a comfortable relationship or taking a chance on something new.OR Kara is a rugby bro and enrolls as a participant in a medical study that Lena is working on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hoping to somewhat weekly updates going on this. I have the next few chapters mapped out, but the getting it started was a struggle. Exposition sucks. 
> 
> This is my first attempt at writing ff, or really anything, so go easy, y'all.

She woke to the rough scratch of a beard against her cheek and whisper in her ear. “I’m leaving, love. C’mon. Don’t wanna be late.” 

She mumbled in acknowledgement and followed the sound of soft footsteps out of the room and away until the front door clicked shut. 

Groaning, she threw back the duvet. She pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the bed and called out. 

“Alexa! ... Play my morning mix.”

A feminine monotone replied from the kitchen, “_ Playing your morning mix. Indie alternative. Starting now.” _

A thumping kick drum and driving base-line erupted throughout the apartment. 

Grabbing her black frames from the nightstand and sliding them onto her face, Lena started about her morning routine. 

Face, washed. Teeth, brushed. Deodorant, check. 

Applying a light layer of mascara to long lashes and throwing her hair back into a loose ponytail, she gave herself a quick one-over and called it good for the day. 

She walked into her closet, plucking the nearest black tank top from a shelf and thumbing down her color-ordered wardrobe of soft sweaters and long-sleeved button-ups. She selected an emerald flannel from the mix. 

Now in National City for just over a month, she mourned the loss of Metropolis’s true sweater weather, but comfort is comfort. She could always roll the sleeves. 

Scooping her bag from the couch and toeing on decreasingly white keds, she set off for another day at NCU. 

Another day of dragging lectures and breaks spent studying or mindlessly scrolling through her phone at the library before returning home to an empty apartment and waiting for Jack to return from work.

_ But this is what you wanted _, she told herself.

After years enrolled in prestigious private schools and loading her schedule with extra curriculars, Lena needed a break. So when Jack had told her that he was relocating across the country for work, so took the leap and followed. She’d already earned her engineering degree from MIT. What was the harm in completing her grad work at a ... less than rigorous university?

Lena had the rest of her life to join her family in corporate America and work herself to death. She would at least give herself this time to be free, to let loose, to be a normal twenty-something.

Still, she’d become bored. She’d become lonely. She’d become a bit stir-crazy if she was being honest with herself. 

Fifteen minutes into endlessly searching through her _ Netflix _ queue, her phone pinged on the cushion next to her. 

** _[Jack 5:28 pm]_ ** Gonna be a couple more hours here. Don’t wait on me.

_ Typical, _ she huffed. 

Looking around the apartment for a moment she came to a fast conclusion. She needed to get the _ fuck _ out of there.

In an effort to burn some time and energy, Lena threw dark hair back into a sleek high pony, pulled on her favorite leggings and slim-fitted tank top, and headed to the university gym. 

An hour of cardio would do some good to work through her frustration. 

The evening crowd seemed to be out in full-force. Lena selected a treadmill overlooking the lowered weight room. She popped buds into her ears, cranked the volume, and got to work. 

As she pumped her legs, she watched the students in the center of the facility in what could only be described as a mating ritual. 

Girls in full make-up and matching designer athletic-wear sauntered around from machine to machine, finding any excuse to stick unfairly toned asses out while the men in somehow even skimpier tanks barely disguised their gawking and occasionally offered to “help” with their form. 

To be fair, Lena couldn’t help but admit that it wasn’t a bad view. 

She found her gaze coming back more and more to one girl in particular. 

A tall blonde in fitted gray joggers and a ragged navy NCU rugby t-shirt with the sides cut off down almost to her waist. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun providing a clear view of muscles straining in her shoulders and back as she lifted forty pound dumbbells over her head. 

_ Not a bad view at all, _ she thought arching her eyebrows _ . _

After a too-long amount of time, Lena shifted her focus to the girl’s face in the mirror and found the blonde already watching her back through the reflection. 

The blonde smiled, threw her a short head nod and resumed her workout_ . _

Heat crept up Lena’s neck, _ but that’s fine. Just hot from running. _

Lena made a point to scan her eyes over the entire facility, pausing at random on one student or another. But inevitably her eyes found themselves once more on the blonde. 

She was now seated at a nearby weight bench and Lena was horrified to note that the girl seemed to have been watching her the entire time. The blonde laughed to herself and shook her head slightly. 

_ Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool. _

Lena kept her eyes firmly planted on the monitor in front of her after that. 

Before too long, a familiar silhouette appeared out her peripheral on the treadmill directly beside her. She looked over, confirming that it was once again the blonde. 

The girl mouthed something at Lena with another head nod, unheard over her blaring music. 

Lena pulled the headphones from her ear, “What?”

The blonde smiled, the corners of eyes eyes crinkling upwards. “I just said, _ hey.” _She gave a small wave, kicking her machine into motion. 

She felt her neck growing red again. “Hey,” she returned, inexplicably nervously. _ What the fuck, Lena? _ The girl was attractive, yes, but _ get it together _. 

Lena spent the last twenty minutes of her run doing her best to keep her eyes forward. The other girl did not seem to be as concerned. 

Lena caught her several times glancing over to Lena’s monitor and matching her strides. 

One of those times, Lena looked back and caught her eye with a polite smile. She upped her pace a few notches. The girl, in turn, increased her speed to match. 

Not one to back down, Lena accepted the unspoken challenge. She upped the pace once again. 

And again the girl looked over to match her. The two continued back and forth until Lena’s legs threatened to give out on her. Finally, she conceded, bringing the machine to a stop and catching her breath. 

She plucked her phone from the holder and began walking off when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. 

Turning, she found herself face to face with the girl, red-faced and slowly wiping sweat from her brow with a small towel. Lena absolutely did not follow the motion with her eyes. 

She raised her eyebrow in question. 

“Your keys” the girl huffed out, earnestly. She extended her hand out with said keys in her palm. 

Lena blanked. Now getting a proper look, the blonde was even more striking. All lightly tanned skin and lean muscle. Impossibly blue eyes scanned her own and widened, urging Lena into motion. 

“Oh. Thank you. Guess I wasn’t getting too far without those...” Lena reached out, careful not to let their fingers brush as she plucked the keys from her hand. 

“Ha. Yeah, I guess not.” She took a breath, reaching up slowly, deliberately, to run a hand through her hair and muss it slightly. _ Is she… flexing? _ “Well then, see you around,” she called out with a sideways grin and a two-fingered salute. 

The blonde back-stepped towards the locker rooms, fully sending herself into a trashcan. Recovering quickly, she caught onto the lid and righted both herself and the bin, chuckling to herself. “Um. Okay, bye.”

“Bye,” Lena half-laughed, offering a small smile to her retreating form. 

With both keys and phone in-hand, Lena began her walk home. As she was about to exit the gym a neon orange flyer caught her eye. 

_ HELP WANTED _

_ Seeking lab assistant for on-campus medical study. $15/hour. 10-15 hours per week. Responsibilities include data entry, test monitoring, and light equipment maintenance. _

_ Contact Alex Danvers (a.danvers@ncu.edu) for more information. _

Interesting. 

While Lena didn’t need the money, a part-time job could be a good way to fill her time. And now that she had sufficiently embarrassed herself in the gym, she couldn’t step foot in there again. 

And she supposed it would be a solid addition to her resume. Her focus had always primarily been in tech, but gaining a little experience outside of her desired field couldn’t hurt. 

She fired off a quick email expressing her interest and made her way home for the night.

As she navigated the city streets back to her apartment, her thoughts drifted back to the blonde. 

The attention felt nice. She’s not vain, but she knew she was beautiful. Fair skin, green eyes, a sharp jawline, and long, brown, almost-black hair combined for an all together not awful appearance. 

What could she say? Puberty was kind to her. 

She was not unaccustomed to attention from both men and women, and also not unaccustomed to her own attention falling on both women and men.

And the blonde certainly had her attention. 

She has Jack, sure. They’re happy. But it had been a while since she had felt that spark. And besides, attraction outside of one’s relationship is perfectly normal. Harmless.

_ A little gym flirting never hurt anyone _, she told herself. It was honestly just the pick-me-up that her day needed. Besides, NCU was a large campus. What were the chances that she would even see the girl again? 

She ignored the hint of disappointment at the thought of _ not _seeing the girl again. 

Though for a brief few moments, Lena let herself fall into the fantasy. 

She pictured a few different scenarios where they could both work up a sweat. At the gym. In the shadows of a bar. In her bed. Blonde waves falling around her face as those shoulder muscles worked in other ways. 

She shook the thoughts from her mind, grinning stupidly into her chest as she climbed the steps up to her building. 

Lena walked through the apartment door, hearing the tell-tale yelling and laughing through the office door of a video game binge sure to last late into the night. 

She slipped quietly past and through to their bedroom, cranking the shower to maximum and stripping off her sweaty clothes. 

Stepping into the steaming water, she let the heat roll down her back. 

Her legs were already sore in a refreshing way that she knew would be reminding her of the mystery girl for days to come. 

_______________

The next day her phone rang with an unfamiliar number illuminated across the top of the screen. As a millenial, her first instinct was to screen the call and let it go to voicemail, but the area code was local. 

“Hello?”

“_Hi, can I speak with Lena Luthor?” _a young woman’s voice asked. 

_ “ _Speaking.”

_ “Hi Lena, this is Alex Danvers. With the medical study? _”

“Oh, right. Thanks for getting back so quickly.”

_ “Of course. We’re a bit short staffed and my other assistant really needs a break, so your email couldn’t have come at a better time. Are you still interested in the position?” _

“Yes, definitely.”

_ “Perfect. We meet two to three times a week. Tuesday and Thursday nights and a few Friday morning sessions. Would that work for you?” _

Lena tried not to sound overly eager. “Yes, I can make that work. What would I be doing?”

_ “Oh, it’s just some simple administrative responsibilities. The study is for my graduate thesis on muscle recovery in relation to certain serums, stimulants, that sort of thing. You’d essentially be working with student athletes to monitor fitness tests and assist with reporting,” _ she explained. 

“Sounds simple enough. And this is safe? And sanctioned? What are the… stimulants that we’re testing?”

_ “Everything is perfectly safe, I promise,” _she laughed. The line paused. 

Lena considered that for a moment. _ Fuck it. _ “Ok, I’m in. What do you need from me? A resume? Recommendations?”

_ “Great! Normally I would make you go through the whole resume and interview process, but honestly a moron could do this job… Don’t tell my assistant I said that… and you don’t seem like a moron. Can you come to the lab this Thursday?” _

“I’ll be there,” Lena promised. 

_ “Sounds good. Welcome to the team. I’ll shoot over all of the details this week and we can go from there?” _

“Works for me, thanks for the opportunity.”

“_No, thank you, really... Ok cool, we’ll I’ll talk to you then. Later.” _ The line went dead. 

It was definitely one of the stranger interviews she had done, but she appreciated that this Alex Danvers seemed to at least be a straight shooter. Worst case scenario, the job is awful, she quits, and it's back to square one, but at that point Lena just needed _ something _ to keep her busy. 

_______________

Thursday night rolled around and Lena was eager to get to the lab. She took the elevator up to the third floor of the ESS building and found the door marking the location Alex had sent her. Pulling the handle, she poked her head into a brightly lit, clinically white windowless room. 

When Alex had said they would be in a lab, Lena had pictured … a lab. 

This room more closely resembled a physical therapy facility. A treadmill and racks of brightly-colored medicine balls were surrounded by cushioned mats and took up the entirety of the right side of the room, while a couple of small desks were cramped together on the left along with a single padded treatment table. 

A couple of voices floated out from a door cracked open on the back wall labeled ‘Private’. 

They seemed to not have heard that Lena had arrived, so she walked back, knocking lightly. 

“Come in!” a familiar voice called.

Lena opened the door fully to reveal a cozy, yet plain office space. In place of fluorescent bulbs, a floor lamp in the corner provided a softer glow than the previous room. 

A young woman slightly older than herself sat behind a gray metal desk. She was leaned back to an almost dangerous angle in her chair. Low-rise boots crossed over each other on top of the desk. She swung her feet to the ground and stood as Lena entered the office.

“You must be Lena. Alex Danvers. Nice to meet you,” she greeted in a professional tone, holding her hand out for a firm handshake. She released her hand, indicating to the shorter woman in the chair beside her desk. “And this is Eve.” Lena nodded to her as well. 

The two made for a strange pair. 

Alex’s overall vibe was in a single word _ badass. _Her dark eyes seemed friendly, but intense. Pale skin contrasted against auburn hair, almost shaved on one side and chopped into a severe bob on the other. And she looked far too comfortable in her black leather jacket and boots. Lena would bet her life that the girl rode a motorcycle. 

Eve, on the other hand, screamed kindergarten teacher. Her blonde hair fell in bouncing curls just past her shoulders. She wore comfortable looking jeans and a flowy blouse with blue flowers perfectly matched to her doe eyes. 

“Hey, Lena. It’s so great to finally meet you!” she chirped in a high, almost superficially-sweet voice. “It’ll be good to have someone else around here.”

“Glad to be here,” Lena responded politely. She ran a hand through her hair and looked around the space. “So, what exactly do we _ do _?” 

Alex moved around the desk and motioned for the two to leave the office. “Nothing crazy. I’ve been working on different solutions to induce bursts of energy for athletes while also encouraging fast muscle recovery. Think pre-workout, but not garbage for your body.” 

She moved to stand in the center of the room while the two assistants followed closely. 

“I’ll be handling all of the chemistry. What I need from you is to be the facilitator.”

She motioned to the exercise equipment. “The subjects are going to come in weekly and test different solutions. It’s just a drink, don’t worry. No needles or anything. You’ll take them through the fitness routines -- adjust the difficulty up or down depending on the person as you see fit.” 

She pivoted on her heels and pointed to the other side of the room. “And then record the results -- blood pressure, heart rate, that sort of thing -- into the database. Easy.”

“Easy,” Lena agreed.

“Ok great. I’m going to let Eve show you the ropes while I knock out some reporting in my office. Let me know if you guys need anything... but don’t need anything, yeah?” Alex asked, already walking away, closing the door behind her.

Eve turned to Lena, smiling. “So! You can have this desk here. I’ll get your login set up for you, no problem.” 

She shuffled some folders around on her desk, picking some from the bottom. “We can split the participants in half. Yikes! It’s been a lot covering everyone. You don’t know how happy I am that Alex finally found another assistant. Not that I don’t love it here! It’s just a lot. You know, school and everything. Anyways, we have a couple of the men’s soccer players coming in this evening. I’m going to keep those for myself... But! You can shadow me for today and then should be ready to go after that! I’m usually around if you need anything anyways. Or Alex. She’s great. You’re gonna love her.”

Lena wasn’t sure when or if the girl had breathed. “Um, yeah. Alex seems...great?”

Eve chuckled, “She’s actually pretty cool. She just takes a bit to warm up to new people. You’ll see.”

“I’m sure that I will.” Lena reached out, grabbing one of the folders in front of her. “Okay, let’s get to it, I guess.”

Lena stuck to Eve’s side for the rest of the evening. True enough, a couple wiry men showed up to the lab not too much later. She watched as Eve doled out the fitness regime, pushing them to the limit all the while maintaining her sweet demeanor. She was like a drill instructor possessed by the Cheshire Cat. The ending combination tended to make her look a bit manic at times, but she proved to be a fun partner. 

The tasks themselves were simple enough. Alex wasn’t wrong about a moron being able to do this job. 

Lena picked everything up quickly and though she was eager to help as a facilitator, what she was really curious about was the actual science behind the study. She’d have to find a way to get on Alex’s good side and in on the real action. But that was a task for another day. 

As the trio was packing away and wiping down the equipment for the night, Eve turned to the other two, cocking her head to the side. “Hey, you know, we should go celebrate Lena’s first day! Would you guys maybe want to go grab a couple of drinks?”

Alex brightened at that. “You know I’m game. Harper’s?”

“Umm... you know I don’t know. I should really be getting home,” Lena said as her phone buzzed in her pocket. 

“Aw, come on, Luthor. A drink won’t kill you,” Alex drawled.

** _[Jack 9:32 pm]_ ** going to the pub with guys, see you later!

“You know what? Drinks sound great. Let’s do it.”

“Fantastic!” Eve cheered, clapping her hands together. 

_______________

Several hours later, emptied bottles and pint glasses littered their high top.

“So, my mother comes home from her board meeting and sees Sebastian grazing on her prized flower beds, Lex and I in a panic, and the rest of the horses running rampant across the property.” Lena gestured wildly. “It took us ages to get them back into the stables. Mother was furious. I mean, fair, but still. It was a while before we were left unattended after that.”

“That is… extremely unrelatable. Some real rich people shit right there, Luthor,” Alex slurs pointing at her with a half empty bottle, as Eve laughed into her drink. 

“Yeah, well. If you were cooped up in the estate all summer, you would find ways to entertain yourself too,” Lena chuckles. “Lex was great though. We used to be close growing up. I always wanted to be just like him, always following him around like a puppy.”

“And now?” Eve asked genuinely.

“And now he’s Mr. _ Big Bad _CEO of the family business. Too busy for his kid sister,” Lena said with a far away look.

“That’s too bad,” Alex said, softening her tone. “I couldn’t imagine not being close to my sister. She’s my best friend.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister!” said Eve, leaning forward on her stool looking exaggeratedly scandalized. 

“No? Surprised I haven’t mentioned her. She’s actually here at NCU. I tease her all the time about following _ me _around like a puppy... for being a puppy too... but the truth is...I would miss ‘er if she’d gone anywhere else.” Alex smiled fondly. “She’s a pain in the ass, but I love ‘er.”

“D’awwww,” Eve drew out, bringing her hands to her cheeks. 

“Oh hush,” Alex said swatting her arm with an eye roll. “Alright, one more round, les do it.”

“I’m calling it, ladies,” Eve slapped her palms on the table, rattling the litany of empty glasses. “Mike is picking me up in a few. Good niiiight,” she said with a wink walking off to settle her tab.

“Gross,” Alex muttered. “What about you, Luthor? Don’t leave me hanging here.”

Lena checked her watch, noting the late hour. They all had a shared shift in the lab the next morning and she really should have gone home a while ago, but hey, the whole point of all of this was to get out more.

“One more,” she promised. “But then I really do need to go home.”

“I knew I liked you.” Alex lazily finger-gunned at the younger girl as she turned towards the bar. “Last round is on me.” 

While Alex was at the bar closing them out and grabbing their drinks, Lena pulled out her phone to make sure Jack wasn’t waiting up on her. Nothing. 

Alex returned with two short rocks glasses of amber liquid. 

At Lena’s raised eyebrows, Alex shrugged. “What? Don’t tell me Miss Boarding School doesn’t drink scotch.” 

“Fair point,” she chuckled. Lena accepted the drink, swirling the liquid around her glass. “Holding one’s liquor _ was _ an important condition of graduating St. Agnes.”

“Hey, public school will get the job done just as well,” Alex informed her. “Hmm, boarding school,” she sighed dreamily. “It always sounded so great growing up on _ Harry Potter_. And all girls? Probably would have figured a few things out sooner if it were me.” She said the last part to herself more than anything. 

“Mmm,” Lena mused. _ It was certainly good for that as well. _ Sensing Alex’s shift in mood, she took the opportunity for a quick change of subject. “I didn’t peg you for a _ Harry Potter _ nerd.”

“That’s ‘cause you haven’t met my sister. There was no choice.”

“She sounds great,” Lena commented neutrally.

“The greatest. I love her.”

“You mentioned that,” Lena laughed. “I think it’s sweet.”

“She’s the sweetest too!” Alex’s eyes lit up, leaning her chin forward onto her hand. “She’ll act like she’s all tough, but I know better. She’s mush. All mushy on the inside.”

“I suspect that you two have that in common?”

“Hey, watch it, Luthor. I’m tough.” Alex said suddenly serious, though her glazed eyes gave her away.

“Yes, very tough, _ Danvers _. That’s very apparent right now.” Lena said pouting her lips out, closing her eyes, and nodding her head. 

She drained the last of her scotch and watched as Alex did the same. “Speaking of your sister, do you have a ride home? The last thing I need is to be out of the job because my boss couldn’t make it home from the bar.”

“Only a couple blocks away. I can make it.”

Laughing, Lena grabbed her bag and stood from her stool. “C’mon, Danvers. I’ll walk you.” 

Alex stood on shaky legs and draped her arm over Lena’s shoulders. “You’re a good egg, Luthor.”

After making sure Alex made it safely up to her apartment, Lena called a cab home. Granted, it was a short distance, but she knew better than to walk the streets alone at this hour. 

Sliding the key in and turning, Lena quietly opened the door to a dark apartment. 

She found Jack sprawled across the bed. Tiptoeing in the dark, she changed into shorts and an oversized tee before slipping under the covers. 

Subconsciously sensing her, Jack rolled over and threw his arm around her middle. She fell asleep quickly to soft snores in her ear and the smell of whiskey on his breath. 

_______________

Despite the late night, Lena was wide awake far too early the next morning. She spent twenty minutes willing herself back to sleep before giving up, deeming it useless. 

She packed a few of her notebooks into her bag and decided to head to campus a little early for a coffee and a greasy croissant before her shift in the lab. 

She found a small cafe on campus, ordered a large coffee, and found a comfy booth in the back of the shop while she waited. Before too long, her name was called at the counter. 

Thanking the barista and tossing a few bills into the jar, she grabbed her cup and turned to leave the shop. 

No sooner than she spun around was she forced into a jolting stop, just barely missing the person standing closely behind her. She’d spilled some coffee down her front in the process._ Perfect. _

She looked up to find none other than her mystery girl from the gym, looking far too good for 8 am on a Friday. _ Perfect. _

The girl was once again in cut-off gym clothes, but this time paired with a dark NCU snapback covering long, wavy blonde hair and thick-framed glasses. It’s a look that really shouldn’t work for Lena, but really does. 

“Oh dude, I am so sorry…” she said reaching out to stabilize Lena by her shoulders and craning her neck to the side, “...Lana. I’m so sorry, Lana.”

Lena gave her a puzzled look.

“Your cup,” she clarified, remembering to let go of Lena and pointing to the name scrawled across the side. 

“Oh,” she said, feeling silly_ . _ “Um, it’s Lena, actually... They never get it right,” she said waving her hand vaguely. 

“Well, Lena, then. That was my bad. I wasn’t thinking.” 

She moved to brush at the coffee on Lena’s chest before stopping midair and retracting her hand as if burned, her cheeks coloring slightly. “Lemme buy you a drink or something to make up for it?”

The blonde may have had a bit of a bro-y air to her, but she had kind eyes and seemed sincere enough.

Lena raised her cup a little higher in the air. “I already have a drink… it’s really okay. Thank you, though.”

“Yeah… I guess you do.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “Well, hey, if I know your name, I guess it’s only fair that you know mine.” 

She extended her hand out, smiling wide. “Kara, part-time klutz, part-time _ excellent _coffee companion, at your service.” 

Amused, Lena reached out to grasp Kara’s offered hand. It was softer than she had been expecting. Not that Lena was expecting anything. “It’s nice to meet you, Kara. Excellent coffee companion, huh?”

Kara threw her a smug smile, puffing out her chest and brushing some imaginary lint off her shoulder. 

_ Oh my _ god_, what a dork_. _ A cute dork, though. _

“I don’t mean to brag. That’s just the word on the street. And after all, I did save you from a night of tracking down your keys.”

Lena pretended to be taken aback. “Oh, so I owe you now?” she deadpanned.

“No! No, that was stupid. I’m stupid,” Kara backtracked, muttering to herself and looking slightly panicked. 

Lena decided to take pity on her. She reached out to lay her hand on a firm bicep. “Kara, I’m kidding. I’m just surprised you remembered me, to be honest.”

“Well, yeah. You have a face that’s hard to forget,” she mumbled so quietly to herself that Lena wasn’t sure that she had meant to say the words aloud. But she had. 

Before Lena could dwell too much on that comment, she became distracted by a man attempting to shuffle through the small space between them and the counter. 

“Oh, we’re in the way,” Lena said, stepping off to the side and hoisting her backpack further onto her shoulder. “Look, any other time and I would love to, honestly, but I really was just on my way out.”

Kara deflated slightly, but forced a smile back onto her face. “Okay, yeah, sure. No worries.”

Lena took a couple of steps away before turning back, “But I hope this isn’t the last time we talk?”

Kara’s smiled reached further to her eyes, “I hope not either.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack's not a bad dude.

When Lena entered the lab, Alex was already there. Granted, with her head down and mumbling about not slamming the doors so loud, but she was there. Eve was also at work sorting out the case files for the day’s participants. 

“And good morning to you, too,” Lena greeted sarcastically, setting her bag down in the corner. 

“New rule,” Alex mumbled, looking pale. “No more morning sessions. Ever.” 

She dragged herself up from the desk, gagged, and stumbled into the back office at a surprising speed. 

“Sure thing, boss!” Eve called after her in her usual cheeriness, ignoring the muffled retching sounds from behind the door. “Good morning, Lena! We only have a couple of people coming in today, so you’ll get your first case and I’ll be around in case you need any help,” she said passing over the case files. 

Lena reached out to grab the folder, thanking her as the door swung open behind her. Lena turned, and who should it be but coffee shop Kara.

She leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “When I said that I hoped we’d see each other again, I wasn’t thinking this soon. I have to ask... are you stalking me?”

Kara set the paper bag she was carrying down on the desk and raised her eyebrows. “Um, actually, now I’m starting to think _ you’re _ the one stalking _ me_.”

“Hardly,” she scoffed, smirking. “First of all, I was here first, second of all -- this is my job… what’s your excuse?”

Kara wordlessly motioned to the folder Lena held in her hand.

Curious, Lena opened the file to reveal a headshot of the blonde labeled clearly below _ “Danvers, Kara” _.

“Danvers,” Lena read aloud. _ Naturally. _ “So then you’re Alex’s --”

“Sister, yep.” she said matter-of-factly popping the ‘p’. “So I think _somebody_ owes somebody here an apology.”

Eve watched the exchange with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile. “Hello, Kara.” She gave a short wave.

“Good _ morning_, Eve,” the blonde turned and greeted. “Beautiful as always.”

The younger girl brushed her off, cheeks flushing. “Stop.”

“Never,” Kara replied cheekily.

The office door swung open, and Alex rushed out, making a beeline for the white paper bag. “_Please _ tell me these are what I think they are.”

“Two blueberry muffins, warmed up, as demanded, your Highness,” Kara offered, bowing low. 

Alex dug into the bag, grabbing a muffin with both hands and moaned. “I could kiss you.”

“A thank you will do,” Kara chuckled. 

“Not you, doofus… the muffin.”

“_And I’m the doofus_,” she muttered. 

Alex glared at her. “Don’t judge me in my weakened state.”

“Oh, I would _ never. _”

Lena looked on amused as Alex fully inhaled the muffin and Kara picked at her own. 

Kara turned to the brunette. “So you are my sister’s latest victim here? Of your own free will?” Kara asked playfully around the bite still in her mouth.

“Easy,"Alex warned, seeming to come back into herself. “She volunteered fair and square, just like you.”

“Actually, I believe I’m being paid,” Lena replied. “For my pain and suffering and all,” she added conspiratorially to Kara. 

The blonde chuckled and shrugged. “You’re doing better than me then.” She shuffled over to Alex’s side and smushed her face against the older girl, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “I’m just here out of _ looove. _”

Alex squirmed out of her reach. “Yeah, yeah. Quit distracting the help and _ help _ if you’re going to take up space in my lab.”

Kara straightened up and gave her a mock salute, “Yes, ma’am,” she said seriously. 

Alex shook her head. “Loser.” She tossed her trash into the bin and looked around the room. “Alright. I’ll be in my office. Come get me before you leave, yeah?”

“Sure thing, boss,” Kara said. 

Alex closed the door behind her and Eve moved to sit behind her desk, pulling thick headphones over her ears and leaving the two more or less alone. 

Lena grabbed for her folder and opened it up to the instruction page. “Okay, well I guess we better get to it then. Looks like I have you for the next hour.”

“That you do,” Kara agreed. She plucked her hat and glasses from her head and set them on the nearest table.

Lena noted the test serum indicated in her folder and walked to the small fridge along the back wall, locating it. She poured the blue liquid into a small cup at her station.

“Looks like we’re going to start off with --” she trailed off, turning to find that Kara had stripped down to a black sports bra and matching spandex shorts. “...stretches.”

Lena made the short walk back to Kara, holding out the cup. Kara accepted it, appraising it lightly. She held the cup in the air and made eye contact. “To you,” she toasted with a wink before shooting it back. 

Both gulped. 

For the next hour, Lena led her through the routine. She silently thanked whatever higher power there may be for a reason to be watching Kara’s movements so intently. The amount of skin and muscle on display was a little more than distracting to the brunette. Kara may have been the one pumping out rep after rep, but Lena could also feel herself working up a light sweat. 

Lena cleared her throat as Kara knocked out her remaining Russian twists. “18 … 19 … 20! G-great work, Kara.”

The blonde collapsed, lying back on the mat and breathing hard as she clasped her hands above her head. Lena followed the movements of her chest rising and falling for a touch longer than could be considered friendly before averting her eyes. 

“I’ll just need you to hop up on here for a minute and then you’re free to go,” she informed, motioning to the maroon-padded treatment table in the corner. 

Kara rocked herself into a standing position before following Lena and hoisting herself onto the table. She swung her legs freely, tucking her hands under her knees as Lena grabbed a stethoscope.

Lena came to stand in front of her. 

“I’ll just need to find a pulse” she said motioning with the end of the stethoscope. 

“Oh, of course,” Kara replied. Kara pulled her sports bra to the side and opened her knees to allow Lena better access to her chest. 

Lena cleared her throat, blushing. “Actually, just the wrist will do.”

“Yep!” Kara half-yelled, pulling her sports bra back into place. “Yep, wrist is good. Perfect, really.”

Lena watched her blankly for a moment, waiting. “Your wrist, Kara?” she asked.

“Ohh word, I guess that would help, huh?” She offered her wrist up to the brunette sheepishly. 

Lena caught it her hand, smiling and running her thumb over the pulse point distractedly before covering the spot with the circular metal end. She located the clock on the wall and began to mentally count. 

Thirty seconds doesn’t sound like a long time, but thirty seconds can sure as hell feel like a long time when that time is spent in close quarters with Kara Danvers. 

Lena looked up and found herself in an unexpectedly charged moment. Kara unabashedly held steady eye contact with Lena, her eyes darting back and forth between Lena’s intently. Lena matched her gaze as if in a small stand off before shifting her sight downwards to Kara’s arms… and legs… and _ abs. _

Twenty seconds into the count, Lena pulled away with a small cough. “Okay, yep that’s good enough. Got it.” She tapped the result into her tablet.

Kara hopped off the table and grabbed a nearby towel wiping the sweat from her body. Lena watched her shuffle over to her pile of clothes on the floor. 

She cocked her head to the side, noticing for the first time the alarming amount of small dark spots covering Kara’s body. 

“So does NCU have some underground fight club I haven’t heard about?” Lena asked, motioning to her battered legs. 

Kara chuckled, looking down and turning her legs this way and that. “Not a fight club, no, but it does have a rugby team.”

She pulled on her sweats and yanked the tee back over her head. “You should catch a game sometime!” 

Kara gave Lena’s body an appraising look and leaned back, raising her eyebrows. “Better yet, we’re always looking for new recruits if you want to give it a try. I’ve seen you run. You’d make for a decent wing,” she shrugged.

Lena laughed, moving sit at her desk, “Not a fucking chance.”

“Aw c’mon, Lena, it’s fun!” Kara’s eyes lit up. “It’s good exercise, and the girls are great, and you get to hit people!”

“Mmm,” Lena pretended to consider it. “Tempting, but I rather enjoy having fully functioning brain, thanks.”

Kara placed her hand over her heart in mock hurt, “Oof. I wish I could say that hurts, but I just can’t seem to think of the words. With my dumb ole non-functioning brain and all,” she said smiling. She walked over and plopped herself onto the corner of Lena’s desk.

Eve looked up from her monitor, rolling her eyes before returning to her work.

“Fine then,” Kara conceded, leaning over to watch Lena’s progress on the screen. “But you should still come out to a game and check us out. We’re not half bad. We play tomorrow actually! Two pm on west campus.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Lena replied with more than a hint of sarcasm. 

“You say that now, but you’ll see. I get you out there one of these days.”

“Of course you will, Kara,” Lena placated. She punched in a couple of numbers and exited out of the program. “Well I’m all done here. You were an excellent first… for my subjects. You were an excellent first subject,” she added quickly.

Kara smirked at her. “Honored to be your first, Miss Luthor,” she said brightly. 

Lena rolled her eyes with a head shake. “I’ll see you later, Kara,” she said, making to leave for the day.

Kara swung her legs around and hopped off the desk, calling after the brunette. “Come to lunch!”

“What’s that?” Lena asked turning back.

“You could come to lunch,” Kara repeated a little quieter, pulling her cap on backwards and fiddling with her keys. “With Alex and me. I promised her we’d go get tacos, but you could come. To lunch.” She held her hands palms up and shrugged. “If you wanted.”

“I would...” Lena hesitated. 

Truth be told she wouldn’t mind spending more time with the blonde, but she didn’t want to crash her plans with her sister. Lena had a feeling that sister time was taken seriously in the Danvers household. “...But I have some things I need to take care of. Maybe some other time,” she promised. 

Kara nodded, mind searching. “Okay yeah. Well can I get your number then, before you go?” Kara asked. “You know, if you need me for the study or anything. Just in case.”

Lena knew the excuse was flimsy. Kara had a direct line to anything relating to the study through her sister. But it would be rude _ not _ to, she supposed. 

Lena pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it over. Kara tapped in her contact, adding flex and water droplets emojis to the end of her name and handing it back. 

Lena checked the screen and shot Kara a look. 

“What?!” Kara shrugged, throwing her hands up in defense. “This is a study for_ working out _ and testing _ drinks.. _. Whatever, dude, it makes sense.”

“Mhmm,” Lena replied skeptically turning to leave. “_ Bye _, Kara,” she drew out. “Bye, Eve!” she said a little louder craning her neck to the younger blonde. 

“Bye, Lena.” She heard softly behind her. 

_______________

Lena was once again surprised by the positive impact that the blonde had on her mood. Feeling light, she decided to take the scenic route home. National City really was a beautiful place, wasn’t it? 

Palm trees lined the streets as she neared the harbor. She was not yet accustomed to the warmer temperatures along the west coast, but the waterside provided a cooler breeze that made it _ almost _nice. 

Lena located a food cart for a quick lunch and a bench along the water to settle in. She was halfway through a chapter in her e-reader when a text message came in from Kara. It was a picture of a pile of street tacos loaded past the brim with onion, cilantro, barbacoa, and a wedge of fried avocado with a caption below.

** _[Kara 11:43 am]: _ ** _ this coulda been us, but you playing. _

Lena scoffed, shooting back a picture of her less-than-impressive street dog. 

** _[Lena 11:43 am]: _ ** _ You definitely have me beat. _

** _[Kara 11:44 am]: _ ** _ lena no. pls tell me that’s not your lunch _

** _[Kara 11:44 am]: _ ** _ that’s barely allowed to be called food _

** _[Lena 11:47 am]: _ ** _ Are you lunch shaming me? _

** _[Kara 11:48 am]: _ ** _ YES _

** _[Kara 11:48 am]: _ ** _ ABSOLUTELY _

Lena laughed, flipping back to her book for a bit.

** _[Kara 11:51 am]: _ ** _ and here I was thinking we could be friends _

** _[Kara 11:52 am]: _ ** _ but now I just don’t know _

** _[Kara 11:52 am]: _ ** _ i’m really rethinking things here _

Lena typed out a quick _ “how will I ever live with myself?” _ before backspacing. Then she tried a _ “what can I do to make it up to you?” _But that didn’t feel right either. 

Deciding on a different approach, she opened her front camera and checked her reflection, wiping some smudged eyeliner from the corner of her eye. She held her phone out searching for a flattering angle. 

She took two or eight different shots before huffing in frustration._ She’s just a friend. _Why does she even care? She didn’t. Still, she may as well find the best one… 

Settling for the photo of her in full pout that made her eyes pop, she hit send. 

** _[Lena 11:57 am]: _ ** _ I’m crushed. _

** _[Kara 12:04 pm]:_ ** _ ok you’ve convinced me. _

** _[Kara 12:04 pm]: _ ** _ we can get through this _

** _[Kara 12:05 pm]: _ ** _ but only because you’re cute :) _

Lena had a choice. 

She could take the bait, let herself fall into the moment, and send something flirty back. But something about that rubbed her the wrong way. She had a boyfriend after all. It would be unfair to lead the girl on. It would be one thing to flirt harmlessly with any other friend. That, she was familiar with. But this would be different. It felt too real considering her growing attraction to the girl. 

** _[Lena 12:06 pm]: _ ** _ Phew. That was a close one -- I’m glad we could work it out. _

** _[Kara 12:08 pm]: _ ** _ Good. I wasn’t worried, but Alex on the other hand… _

Another photo came through of Alex midbite, seemingly attempting to keep her taco from falling apart by messily catching the ingredients with her mouth. Lena could see some sauce starting to trail down the girl’s forearm. 

** _[Kara 12:08 pm]: _ ** _ she had her concerns. _

Lena snorted out a laugh, covering her mouth hastily. 

** _[Lena 12:10 pm]: _ ** _ Amazing. Tell her I have a new contact photo for her. _

** _[Kara 12:11 pm]: _ ** _ she says and i quote “I fucking dare you.” _

Lena quickly saved the photo and added it to Alex’s saved contact card, screenshotting the update and forwarding it to Kara. 

** _[Lena 12:14 pm]: _ ** _ What’s done is done. There’s no going back. _

** _[Kara 12:15 pm]: _ ** _ bold move. I like your style. _

She smiled, reaching up to feeling her cheeks becoming sore from grinning at her phone like an idiot for the past half hour. 

Before she could reply, another message came through her top banner. 

** _[Jack 12:15 pm]: _ ** _ Heading home early. Meet you there? _

She sent back a short confirmation and gathered her trash from the bench. Before getting up to leave, she took a deep, contented breath and smiled once more to herself. So much smiling. She really needed to get a handle on this latest development in her life. 

_______________

She beat Jack back to the apartment with just enough time to change out of her jeans and blouse and into something comfier. 

He walked through the door with a large takeout bag in hand. 

“Hey, love,” he greeted. He walked over to behind where she sat on the couch and leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek. “How was your shift?”

She shuffled over to make room for him on the couch, pulling her feet out from underneath herself. “It was good,” she replied. “Nothing crazy. What brings _ you _ home so early on a workday?”

He plopped down next to her and breathed deeply, leaning back into the cushions and running his hands through thick hair. “I just had to get out there for the week. Beth was driving me absolutely bonkers. It never ends.”

“Mmm,” Lena mused with a small eye roll. “Who are you telling?”

He turned and looked at her sympathetically. “I’m sorry, love. I know I haven’t been around much. There’s just so much to do with this merger coming up, and I’m still the new guy, and I just want to show them that they made the right choice bringing me here...”

She reached out to place a hand on his thigh giving him a gentle smile. “I know. I just miss you, I guess.”

“I miss you too.” He leaned over softly pressing his lips to hers. “But I’m here now and you have me all to yourself tomorrow. And I come bearing food! Have you eaten?”

“Nope. Starving,” Lena replied pulling back to survey the haul.

“Good!” he said cheerily, pulling the bags open. “I grabbed some tacos from that place you like down the street.”

Lena chuckled to herself. _ Great minds… _ “Just what I was craving, thanks,” she said as she dug through the pile and loaded herself up. “So, now that I finally have you here, want to knock out a few episodes?”

He shot her a knowing look. “Just a few.”

“Of course, just a few,” she promised, nodding seriously. 

A rattling snore woke her, the apartment now dark illuminated only by the TV screen asking her _ Are you still watching? _

At some point she had curled into a ball in front of Jack on the couch. Her neck had formed a cramp from the awkward angle. She sat up, rubbing away the soreness and looking back at her boyfriend, dead to the world behind her. She lightly shook his shoulder, leaning close to his ear. 

“C’mon, baby. Let’s go to bed.”

Jack mumbled in sleep. She tried again, a little firmer this time. “Jack.”

He shifted away from her, burying his face in the cushions and pulling a blanket further around him.

_ Suit yourself _, she thought. She reached for her phone and thumbed through her several notifications from throughout the night. 

** _4 new emails_ **

** _Missed Call: Mother_ **

** _INSTAGRAM the.real.kd started following you. _ ** _ 4hr _

** _INSTAGRAM the.real.kd liked your post._ ** _ 4hr _

** _INSTAGRAM the.real.kd liked your post. _ ** _ 4hr _

Grinning, she unlocked her phone and made her way to the bed, curling into the luxurious duvet. She flicked through the posts that Kara had liked -- a basic photo of her textbooks and coffee laid out on a table at the library and one that Jack had taken on her first day in National City with her shooting a thumbs up in front of the campus welcome sign. Without a thought, Lena followed her back. 

She scrolled through Kara’s photos, finding an abundance of thirst trap workout selfies _ (did this girl own a shirt with sleeves?), _ action shots of her and the team in varying degrees of cleanliness, and a surprising amount of softer photos of herself curled up with a fluffy black cat, Streaky, apparently. 

Lena dug further and further down, taking extreme care to keep her thumb away from the small hearts or double tapping. The last thing she needed was to let Kara know she was 60 weeks deep in her instagram at… almost 2 o’clock in the morning. _ What am I doing? _

Sighing, she locked her phone and set it on the nightstand. 

As she stared off into the darkness, she willed her mind to calm down. She replayed her day over and over again. It had been a good day. Great even. But the more she reflected, the more that she came to one startling conclusion:

The parts of her day that made her the happiest were not the soft, loving moments with her long time boyfriend. No, they all revolved around one Kara Danvers. The little moments, the small, intangible things sparked the most joy. 

And that scared the shit out of her. 

She attempted to reason with herself, to apply logic. She was a logical person, right? What she felt for the blonde was nothing more than a passing infatuation. Or perhaps excitement over a new friend in a lonely time. That explains why her stomach flipped at their proximity, or their shared jokes, or her name popping across her screen. She was just lonely. She was just missing Jack. 

And Kara. She barely knew the girl. This growing crush was nothing more than that, a crush. A crush based on nothing more than physical attraction. It would pass, just the same as past dalliances had. Just like her boarding school trysts, just like her undergraduate mentor, just like Veronica. She would spend time with Kara and come to realize that. She’d feel silly looking back. 

Tomorrow would be different. Her and Jack would reconnect. Spend some quality time together. She would be reminded of why she loved him. And she did love him. How could she not? He was kind, he was smart, he was comfortable. They were happy. 

She silenced that small, nagging voice in the back of her mind asking her if that was enough.

No. She was just tired. She would feel better in the morning.

Sure enough, she was asleep minutes later.

_______________

After a good night’s sleep, she did feel better. They spent the morning cooking a proper breakfast and sitting together quietly, contentedly working on separate projects. It was nice. 

Sometime in the morning, she’d received a text from Kara forwarding the details of her match that afternoon with another invitation to come support the team_ . _ Despite her earlier protests, Lena _ was _tempted to go. That’s what friends are for, after all. And that’s what her and Kara were working towards becoming -- friends. 

But she’d read the text and glanced over at Jack just as he was looking up from his drafting board to give her a warm smile. Her heart clenched with the sudden sense of guilt at forgoing the little free time she had with him for the girl. 

She stared at the text, fighting an internal battle. 

** _[Lena 1:01 pm]: _ ** _ Sorry, but not today. Taking care of some things around the house. Good luck!! _

** _[Kara 1:03 pm]: _ ** _ okk... thanks :)) good luck around the house _

Resigned, Lena passed the time doing this and that around the apartment. She cringed and chided herself for the way that her eyes would continually dart back to her phone every time it lit up with a notification. 

She knew logically that Kara was in the middle of her game, but still she couldn’t ignore that small feeling of hope each and every time that it would be her (or the subsequent disappointment when it was anything else).

Hours later, Jack had moved into his office and she found herself zoning in and out of a murder documentary on the couch. 

Out of habit, she opened her phone to idly scroll apps and before she knew it she had pulled open Kara’s instagram. Kara had just posted minutes before -- a few pictures from the game with the caption _ 1 and oh babayyy #ncurugby #womensrugby #ruckit #playlikeagirl #saturdaysarugbyday _. 

She’d styled her hair back into a single long braid for the game. The navy striped jersey and matching white shorts form fitted to her body nicely, Lena noticed, as any friend would. 

There was one action shot of her carrying a large oval ball and shouldering through the defense, grimacing hard. One posed photo of the team mixed in with the opposing women. And one of her with a blinding smile, eyes almost squinted closed with another tall blonde, a teammate apparently, draped over her. The dirt-covered girl had an equally messy Kara in her arms from behind in a prom-like pose and was leaning forward to kiss her cheek.

Lena had no reaction to seeing another girl all over Kara. She didn’t spend a full minute staring at it. She didn’t mentally analyze every detail of hand placement and body language. She definitely didn’t even wonder who the girl was to Kara.

She closed out of the app and petulantly tossed her phone across the couch. 

It shouldn’t surprise her that Kara had someone. It shouldn’t bother her either. If anything this is better. Yep, Kara had someone and Lena had someone. All the better. 

Lena walked over to Jack at his desk. She gripped him by the knees, pivoting his body around in his chair, and stepped into his space. She draped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him firmly, roughly. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and his eyes closed, but he leaned into the contact, reciprocating enthusiastically. After a few seconds he pulled back grinning goofily.

“Well hello to you to,” he greeted. “What was that for?”

She kept her arms where they were, looking purposefully into his eyes. “Because I can,” she stated quirking a brow. “Is that okay with you?” 

“More than,” he assured, leaning forward to scoop her up by the backs of her legs until she was straddling his waist. He began to swing her around slowly, nosing at the nape of her neck. 

“Jack!” she laughed. “Put me down.”

“Mmm, as you wish,” he growled. Though instead of setting her back to the floor, he walked them backwards until the back of her legs bumped into the kitchen counter. He gently sat her down onto the surface, staying firmly planted between her legs with a strong hands on her waist and continued to pepper kisses down her neck and throat. 

She stayed put, staring off into the distance and patiently waiting for his administrations to end. The energy that she’d had for any action only moments before had quickly faded. Finally she craned her neck backwards, breaking the contact. 

He pulled back, searching her eyes with a worried look. “Are you okay?”

She sighed, giving him a tired smile. “Yeah, I’m good. Hungry. Want to go grab an early dinner?”

“A woman after my own heart. Sushi?”

Lena used the space between them to slide from the countertop. “Sounds great. Just let me change into something I didn’t sleep in last night.”

Before long, they were seated at their favorite restaurant a few blocks away. Lena settled into the deep booth and looked over Jack’s shoulder to see a college football game playing on the small TV above the bar and was reminded again of Kara. She pulled out her phone to send a short message.

** _[Lena 5:23 pm]: _ ** _ Congrats on the win today! Go Blues! _

The reply came back almost instantly.

**_[Kara 5:23 pm]: _**_LENA!!_ _thanks :))) we’re heading to the social now _

** _[Kara 5:23 pm]: _ ** _ you should come meet us!!! _

Jack’s nose was buried in the menu, distracted, so she tapped out a hasty reply, not wanting to be a bad date. 

** _[Lena 4:43 pm]: _ ** _ that’s okay -- I’ll let you celebrate with your teammates. _

She placed her phone face down, but heard the repeated buzzing of Kara’s usual double and triple texting. She clicked the device into silent mode and chose to ignore it for the time being. Kara could wait. She had her _ teammate _or whoever to keep her entertained 

“D’you know what you want to get?” he asked, not looking up. 

“Probably the same as usual,” she said offhandedly. “Go with what you know, you know?”

“How very adventurous of you,” he smirked at her. 

She rolled her eyes, “You know me.”

The two enjoyed a quiet meal together, catching each other up on work and school. Over a bottle of wine, Jack ran through the projects he was working on, asking for her feedback and opinions on the less technical aspects while Lena told him stories about the study, more or less excluding certain details. 

“Eve’s super sweet. The complete opposite or Alex. I can’t tell if she’s actually an asshole or just fucking with me yet. I don’t know. I can’t get a good read on her.”

Jack hummed noncommittally. 

Lena paused to pop a piece of the roll into her mouth. “Eh, I guess that’s not fair. She’s pretty cool. Just takes a bit to warm up to people.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Jack supplied. 

“Fair. Her sister’s another story.”

“Her sister?”

“Oh yeah, her sister is one of my study subjects. Very… friendly.” Lena considered for a moment. “A little dorky,” she added. 

“Also sounds like someone I know.”

“Shut up.”

As Jack returned his credit card to his wallet and filled out the receipt, Lena turned her phone over, reading through her earlier messages.

** _[Kara 4:43 pm]: _ ** _ pleasseee. free beer and pizza!! _

** _[Kara 4:44 pm]: _ ** _ everybody from the game is coming! even the other team and their fans! _

** _[Lena 5:57pm]: _ ** _ maybe next time _

** _[Kara 5:58 pm]: _ ** _ i’m going to hold you to that. _

** _[Kara 5:58 pm]: _ ** _ you can’t avoid me forever! _

Jack looked up to Lena’s face lit up and staring fondly at her screen. 

“Who’s got you all smiley over there?” he smirked. “Ohhh how I remember when you used to look at _ me _that way...” he said wistfully. 

Lena quickly exited out of her messages and returned her phone to her pocket. 

“Just a friend,” she said casually. 

“That’s exciting! See? I told you you’d meet new people here.”

“Mmm yeah, finally someone to talk to other than you,” she quipped.

“Fair point,” he said seriously. “I can be a real drag, I know.”

“The worst,” she agreed with a smile.

He mimed being shot through the heart. 

“Well then. On that note, what do you say we continue this party at my place?” He stood and held his hand out to her. “If you play your cards right, I _ may _ even give you a tour of my bedroom,” he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She quirked her brow, the alcohol beginning to hit her, and accepted his offered hand, “Lead the way.”

_______________

Jack rolled off of her, giving her a final sweaty kiss and grabbing a towel. 

“Thanks, love. I’m going to go get a snack and play some games.”

Lena murmured her acknowledgement and pulled the sheets up to cover herself. She reached over the side of the bed to pluck her phone from floor where it had fallen. 

It seemed that the post-game festivities were in full swing if Kara’s instagram story was anything to go by. The first posts were innocent enough, just a picture of the players toasting each other on the patio of a local bar. One of Kara holding up a poorly homemade trophy naming her something called Bitch of the Pitch, whatever that meant. 

As the time stamps progressed, photos turned to panning videos of the girls loudly yelling some chanting song that Lena had never heard but everyone seemed to know the words to, including audience participation. 

Lena laughed as she watched Kara sing along and swing her pint to and fro in front of her face like a pirate. 

And finally, to Lena’s _ absolute _ disgust, she watched a video of a player pouring a full beer into someone’s shoe and Kara immediately chugging directly from the heel of the shoe. She downed the beer in a matter of seconds and up-ended the shoe over her head to prove it. The text on the video read simply “SHOOT THE BOOT”. 

_ What in the actual fuck? _

She couldn’t help herself. Lena swiped up to send a reply to the story.

** _[Lena 9:05 pm]_ ** : _ Kara, NO. _

** _[Kara 9:19 pm]_ ** : _ kara YES! _

** _[Lena 9:20 pm]_ ** : _ you are actually disgusting _

** _[Kara 9:24 pm]_ ** : _ SHOOT. THE. BOOT. _

** _[Lena 9:26 pm]_ ** : _ but whyyyyy _

** _[Kara 9:27 pm]_ ** : _ SHOOT. THE. BOOT. _

** _[Kara 9:27 pm]_ ** : _ i messed up the song leeeena _

** _[Kara 9:27 pm]_ ** : _ you gotta _

** _[Kara 9:27 pm]_ ** : _ SHOOT. THE. BOT. _

** _[Kara 9:29 pm]_ ** : _ SHOOT. THE. BOOT. ***** _

** _[Lena 9:33 pm]_ ** : _ you’re ridiculous. _

Lena, sated and relaxed for the first time in too long, felt the wine nudge her into unconsciousness. She was almost all of the way drifted off when she blurrily read one last text come through. 

** _[Kara 9:41 pm]_ ** : _ i kno u are but what am i _

Lena chuckled to herself, knowing she wasn’t about to have Kara’s attention for too much longer with the way that her night was progressing. She sent off one final text before letting herself succumb to drooping eyelids. 

** _[Lena 9:41 pm]_ ** : _ goodnight Kara make good choices _

_______________

** _[Kara 11:36 pm]_ ** : _ i always make choices _

** _[Kara 11:36 pm]_ ** : _ good choices ***8* _

_______________

** _[Kara 12:53 am]_ ** : _ goodnight lena _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come talk to me on tumblr @dbelizabeth  
Shooting the boot is absolutely a real and disgusting thing. There are *known* rugby songs (just google I Used to Work in Chicago rugby song) with a ton of made up verses and people go around in circles singing their own verses. If someone messes up their verse, they have to chug a beer out of their shoe. Or for the hot weather folks, luge down a sandal.


	3. Chapter 3

As the weeks passed, Lena had come to rather enjoy her new life in National City. For the first time in her life, she felt like she’d finally had it all figured out, found a balance. School was going well, her work kept her busy, and she’d even fallen into her own little circle of friends. 

She was still adjusting into the whole friends thing. Not that she was a hermit before or anything… but this was different. Social events in the past had primarily been forcing herself out to dinners with classmates closer to acquaintances than anything or the occasional club gathering. Now she actually looked forward to spontaneous lunch dates, nights out, and even the occasional game night.

So when Alex had invited her to the pub on a Wednesday night, she said yes. 

She’d arrived at the address that Alex had texted her and walked into a dimly lit room with long wooden, Great Hall-style tables and a small bartop in the back corner. The place was relatively empty save for a small group of students who had set up a projector and multiple Nintendos in the back corner. Alex spotted her and waved as Lena ambled over to the bar. 

With a pitcher in hand, she pulled out a black folding chair across from Alex. 

“Hey,” Lena greeted, smiling. “This place is cozy.”

Alex surveyed the room briefly, “Yeah. Nothing crazy, but the prices aren’t bad and the staff are cool.”

“What’s going on over there?” she asked jerking her head towards the group.

“Retro game tournament! They’re here every week. You play?” 

Lena leaned back and cocked her head back and forth, pretending to consider it. “I dabble.” 

Alex appraised her and took a swig. “You’re on.”

“Haha, let me get a few in me first, and then, challenge accepted.” She pulled out her phone, smirking at a message and responding quickly before back down. 

Alex waited for her attention to return. “So, no Jack tonight?”

“Oh, no. He’s out of town for work. Star City this time.”

“Again?”

“Yeahhh, I know.”

“Isn’t he like an engineer or something. Sounds like a sit-at-a-desk-all-day type of job.”

“Eh yes and no. He’s working with R&D on a prototype, so he has to go be in the same room to try things out with the other guys.”

Alex’s eyes lit up, “Speaking of! I was playing around with that formula you sent me the other day and I think you’re onto something. I want to get you in the lab sometime this week and show you what I came up with.”

Lena mirrored her enthusiasm, nodding her head. “That’s awesome! Sounds good to me, just let me know when.”

“Will do, bud! … I feel like I hit the jackpot with you. Have I mentioned that?”

Lena ducked her head, grinning widely and swiping her tongue across her teeth. “You may have, once or twice. Just trying to do my part.” 

“Well you have. Really, you’ve been fucking killing it. Thank you, Lena,” she added sincerely.

Lena murmured a _ no problem _ and took a long drink, feeling squirmy at the praise. Her phone chimed again, but she’d simply read it, smiled, and left the screen open on the table. 

“Okay, okay. I’m done,” putting her hands up in surrender. “Hard pivot, who do you got blowing up your phone?” Alex leaned forward to glance at the name on her screen. “Oooo, Kara. What’s she up to?”

“She just finished up at practice. She actually was just asking if she could meet us out.”

“Ah, of course she is, I should have known,” Alex said faux-annoyed. “Tell her ‘yes’ like I know you want to.”

Lena chuckled sending the text, “What? We’re friends!”

“Mhmm,” Alex hummed skeptically. “I can see that.” She took a moment to read Lena’s face. “You two seem to be getting close.”

She shrugged, rotating her glass on the table and putting on her best poker face. “Yeah, I suppose. But you know Kara. She’s a friendly person.”

“She is,” Alex considered, turning serious. “The thing with Kara is that everything she does, she does with her entire heart. And she’s got a big heart. I’ve seen it bite her in the ass more than I’d like, but there’s no stopping her once she’s set on something.”

“You’re not wrong. But who wouldn’t want a friend like that? I feel lucky to have met her. She’s really made this place feel more like home,” Lena said fondly. 

Alex refilled her glass, narrowing her eyes as she watched Lena stare off. “A friend, right... Just be careful with her, Lena,” she said a little too knowingly. 

Lena snapped her attention back to the older girl. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Alex raised her eyebrows and leant backward slightly in her seat. “It means that I’m not stupid. I see the two of you together.”

“We’re just friends, Alex, really,” Lena asserted, becoming defensive.

“_I_know that, but do you? You’re not stupid either. You have to see the way she looks at you. The way she drops everything whenever you call? I’m telling you, be careful with her.”

“I wouldn’t hurt her.”

Alex sighed. “I know you wouldn’t mean to. I’m just worried -- Look, she’s always going to be there for you, you know? I’m just worried that that is starting to mean something different for her than it means to you.”

“She means a lot to me too, Alex. I care, I really do.”

The door to the bar swung open and the blonde in question appeared looking ruffled and sweaty. A wide grin stretched across her face upon finding Lena and Alex seated nearby. She walked over noting the empty pitchers already on the table. 

“Hey guys!” she said breathlessly resting her hands to lean on the back of Lena’s chair. “I’ll go grab us another round?”

“Sounds good,” Lena smiled lightly up at her. 

As Alex watched her walk away, she leaned in, speaking low to Lena. “I know you _ do _care, but do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I do,” Lena said quietly. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Alex looked at her sympathetically. “Thank you.”

“What are you thanking her for?” Kara asked cheerfully returning with her hands full and falling into the chair besides Lena. Lena shook her head at her and reached up to pick away the bits of grass caught in the blonde’s braid. 

Alex shot Lena a Look and refilled their glasses. 

“_ Lena _here was just promising to take it easy on me in Mario Kart, but I’ve already told her she doesn’t need to. She knows that she’s talking to the reigning champ of the Danvers Cup.”

Kara scoffed, “You cheated and you know it!”

“That’s _ bullshit _ and _ you _ know it!” Alex exclaimed. She sat back, smirked at her and raised her eyebrows as she took a sip. “And even if I _ had_, if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.”

Looking scandalized, Kara’s eyes bulged. “See! Cheater! Lena agrees with me. Right, Lena?” she asked turning to the brunette. 

Lena’s hands shot up in front of her. “Nope. Not getting in the middle of this one.”

“That means she agrees with me,” Alex said. 

“Whatever,” Kara pouted. “_Cheater_,” she mumbled under her breath.

Lena decided to change the subject before the situation escalated. “How was practice, Kara?”

The blonde visibly relaxed, grabbing for her own glass. “Ah man, so good! Leslie caught me one time real good, and I hurt my elbow on the way down,” she held up her elbow to show them the bruise already forming, “but Sara and I are working through some new plays with the backs that I think are going to give us an edge over Gotham in a couple of weeks. It’s so sick, check it out:” 

She grabbed for a few of the coasters scattered across the table.

“See I put the ball in here,” she pointed, “and then Sara skips it out to Imra, and then…” 

Lena watched, amused, as Kara animatedly scooted the coasters around the table to mimic the player’s movements, gesturing wildly while she explained why this and that would or wouldn’t work. She nodded along encouragingly. Most of it went directly over Lena’s head, but Kara really was quite cute when she got on a roll. Lena didn’t have the heart to stop her.

“_Kara! _” Alex finally interjected. “You know she doesn’t know what you’re talking about, right?”

“Well!” Kara said, exasperated. “Maybe if _ someone _ would actually come to one of my games, then she would!”

Lena laughed, “Why do I need to come to a game, when I know how much you love to give me _ each _ and _ every _ play-by-play afterwards? I wouldn’t want to ruin the fun.”

Kara glared at her. 

“What would be _ fun _ is if you would come watch your _ best friend _ be a certifiable _ badass _ in _ real life_,” she retorted, dipping her head low to meet Lena’s eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll go eventually, badass,” Lena said waving her hands vaguely. 

“For the love of God, Lena, just go so I don’t have to listen to any more of her whining about it,” Alex cut in.

“I do not _ whine, _” Kara protested, crossing her ever-exposed arms over her chest and puffing up, the fabric pulling tight against her. 

“Sure you don’t,” Alex said with a side eye roll. 

Kara turned purposefully to Lena, giving her a pointed look. “I don’t whine.”

Lena nodded her head in mock assurance, placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder and giving her a sympathetic smile. “Of course you don’t, sweetie.”

Kara huffed and grabbed for her drink. “You guys are the worst. I came here for a good time, and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now.”

“Dramatic,” Lena said before putting on a childlike voice and gently pulling Kara’s arms free. “Would watching me kick Alex’s ass in Mario Kart make you feel all better?”

Kara tried and failed to keep the smile off of her face. “_Yes,_” she admitted with a hint of a pout still in her voice.

“Wooow. Ok, cool. So that’s how you want to play it? Keep it up. You’re digging your own grave, Luthor,” Alex warned, standing to scoop up their drinks. 

Kara stood up as well, re-crossing her arms protectively over her chest and glaring at Alex, “A week’s worth of dishes says Lena wins _ and _she laps you.”

The older girl barked a laugh. “Oh my god, deal. I’m going to enjoy this,” she said as she walked away towards the group in the back.

Once Alex was a safe distance away, Lena placed her hand on Kara’s shoulder and looked at her sincerely. “I hope you like doing dishes.”

Kara looked distraught. “Lena, please! You have to win. Please please please.”

“I mean, I’ll _ beat _ her. But you know I’m not going to lap her. You dug _ your _ own grave on that one, love.” 

Kara flushed and she ran a hand through her hand exhaling loudly. “Ugh, I know. I just got carried away.” She brightened. “But you got this! I believe in you!” she cheered putting her fist up and hesitating for a split second before seemingly committing to the motion and giving Lena a light shoulder punch. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Lena chuckled before motioning behind her with her head and walking away. “You coming?” she called over her shoulder.

“Yep!” Kara chirped, chasing after her.

_______________

The next few days were quiet with both Jack and Kara out of town for a meeting and away game respectively. Lena wiled the time away alone at her apartment.

**_[Kara 3:20 pm:]_** _leslie is actually about to murder somebody_

** _[Kara 3:20 pm:]_ ** _ we’re barely even halfway lol _

** _[Lena 3:20 pm:] _ ** _ 15 hrs in van with you lot -- i would consider it _

** _[Kara 3:21 pm:]_ ** _ rude. _

** _[Kara 3:21 pm:]_ ** _ we’re fun _

** _[Kara 3:21 pm:]_ ** _ she just doesn’t appreciate the undeniable art that is my road trip playlist _

** _[Lena 3:25 pm:] _ ** _ ah, so not a Disney fan i take it? _

** _[Kara 3:26 pm:]_ ** _ not even a little!! _

** _[Kara 3:26 pm:]_ ** _ it’s a crime against my people, honestly _

** _[Lena 3:27 pm:]_ ** _ Hang in there, champ. _

_______________

** _[Kara 5:01 pm:]_ ** _ now entering state lines!!! _

** _[Lena 5:14 pm:]_ ** _ woot woot! _

_______________

** _[Kara 6:59 pm:]_ ** _ leeeennnnaaaaa _

** _[Kara 7:00 pm:]_ ** _ pay attention to meee _

** _[Lena 7:07 pm:]_ ** _ yes, princess? _

** _[Kara 7:08 pm:]_ ** _ i’m bored :( _

** _[Lena 7:08 pm:] _ ** _ Oh yeah? The fun finally wearing off? _

** _[Kara 7:08 pm:]_ ** _ … maybe _

** _[Lena 7:12 pm:]_ ** _ What happened to road trips are the best, Lena! Nothing brings a team together like hours trapped in a van, Lena! Sing alongs, Lena! _

** _[Kara 7:15 pm:] _ ** _ damn _

** _[Kara 7:15 pm:] _ ** _ called the fuck out _

** _[Kara 7:17 pm:] _ ** _ everybodys sleeping :( _

** _[Lena 7:18 pm:]_ ** _ You could try that? How far out are you? _

**_[Kara 7:20 pm:] _**_A couple hours :(__  
_ _And I can’t -- I’m on shotgun duty. Besides I can’t sleep in a car to save my life._

** _[Lena 7:21 pm:] _ ** _ What does that entail? _

** _[Kara 7:23 pm:] _ ** _ Navigating, dj, and keeping the driver awake. Very important stuff. _

** _[Lena 7:24 pm:] _ ** _ Sounds like it! _

** _[Kara 7:30 pm:] _ ** _ what’re you up to? _

** _[Lena 7:24 pm:]_ ** _ Just at the house. Watching tv and making some food. _

** _[Kara 7:26 pm:] _ ** _ sounds cozy! _

** _[Kara 7:27 pm:] _ ** _ dooo you want some company when I get back? _

** _[Lena 7:28 pm:] _ ** _ It’s going to be kinda late? _

** _[Lena 7:28 pm:] _ ** _ Not that I’m saying no! _

** _[Lena 7:28 pm:] _ ** _ Just aren’t you going to be tired? _

** _[Kara 7:29 pm:] _ ** _ i’ll be okay :) _

** _[Lena 7:32 pm:] _ ** _ Ok. Well if you’re sure, that’s good with me. _

** _[Lena 7:33 pm:] _ ** _ You’re always welcome here. _

** _[Kara 7:35 pm:] _ ** _ dope! I’ll see you in a bit then! _

_______________

** _[Kara 9:16 pm:] _ ** _ 30 min out _

** _[Lena 9:17 pm:] _ ** _ Doors open _

Lena jumped up and rushed to her bathroom. She checked her appearance over in the mirror, attempting to fluff her hair this way and that but failing to hide the grease. _ Fuck. _ She tore off her sweats and hopped in the shower, running the various soaps over herself as quickly as possible. 

Drying off and ripping the brush through her knots, she debated what to wear. Anything nicer than pajamas this late on a Sunday would look strange. She pulled on some running shorts and debated between tops before opting for a soft cami. She looked herself over and was generally pleased at the last minute preening, but decided to add a light layer of mascara to her lashes in the end. There, casual. 

** _[Kara 9:42 pm:] _ ** _ here _

Even with the warning, Lena’s heart still skipped at the loud knock on the door. She walked over taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down before opening the door to reveal a very tired Kara. Kara visibly relaxed upon seeing her. 

She sighed and pulled Lena into a tight hug. “Missed you,” she murmured.

Lena laughed nervously, giving her a final squeeze before releasing her. “It was just a few days.”

“Felt like longer,” she shrugged a shoulder up, following Lena into the apartment.

“Good trip? How was Gotham.”

“Yeah, it was good. Kinda sketch, but we won. Hey, I feel super gross. Can I jump in your shower real quick?” she asked pulling the fabric of her hoodie away from her chest. 

“Of course! Go ahead and I’ll grab you some clothes to change into.”

Kara gave her a tired smile. “Sweet. Thanks.” 

Lena watched her find her own way back through the apartment and close the bathroom door behind her, hearing the water turn on. She followed behind and found some shorts and a white tee. She knocked lightly on the bathroom door and spoke into the crack. “There’s some clothes on the bed. Take your time.”

“Thanks!” she heard called over the sound of the rushing water. 

She returned to the couch, closing the bedroom door behind her to allow the blonde some privacy. She switched the input on the TV and idly scrolled through her phone while waiting, but the water cut off a short time afterwards. 

Kara emerged with a huff and collapsed in an upside down position onto the couch next to her, laying her head along the far side and draping her legs over the back. “Ugh, a thousand times better.”

Lena surveyed the girl affectionately before her eyes bulged and she gasped. “Kara, what the fuck happened to you?!” 

She was used to the blonde being generally littered with small scrapes and bruises, but the purpling mark covering the majority of her exposed thigh was objectively massive. 

She reached out to gently run her hand over the girl’s outer thigh. She traced the lines with her fingers, searching Kara’s eyes to make sure she wasn’t hurting her. Kara met her eyes with a dreamy look before shaking herself out of it. 

She coughed and reached down for the offending spot just as Lena retracted her own hand.

“Sorry,” Lena muttered. 

“S’okay. You should see the other girl?” Kara smiled unsure.

“_Kara _, christ,” Lena said giving her a disapproving glare.

The blonde laughed, pulling herself into a sitting position, tucking a foot underneath herself, and pulling a pillow into her lap.

“It’s all part of the game, Lena. You should be more concerned if I come home _ without _ getting beat up.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because that means I didn’t do anything,” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

Lena slowly shook her head staring into blue eyes. 

“What?!” Kara laughed. “It’s fine.” She poked herself roughly in the spot. “Look, it doesn’t even hurt.”

Lena rolled her eyes at her and smiled. “Whatever you say.”

Kara grinned at her and leant forward, lightly landing bouncing jabs at her knee. “Enough about me. How was _ your _weekend?” 

She playfully swatted her hands away. “It was fine. Quiet. Just hung out and caught up on a few things.”

The blonde leaned back and smiled at her. “Sounds nice. Jack’s gone again?”

“Yeah, he’ll be back Friday night, though. I think we’re gonna go try that new tandoori place I’ve been wanting to check out for date night.” 

Kara hummed. “That will be nice.”

“Yeah, should be. I don’t know... He’s been so tired when he gets back lately. We may just stay in for the night.”

Kara brightened. “Well, hey, if he doesn’t want to go out, we could always check it out some other time?”

“You hate Indian food.”

“Not true!” Kara looked appalled. “How dare you question my love of food.”

“You _ literally _ eat the same three things every day,” Lena scoffed.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t try new things! I would go if you wanted to!”

“Ok, Kara,” Lena said placating her. “I’ll let you know.”

“Dope,” Kara said looking mollified with a satisfied smirk. “What do you say? Want to keep going on _ Scrubs _?”

“Are you going to fall asleep on me?”

“Nope!” the blonde chirped. “Try me.”

Lena shook her head but scrolled to the next episode anyways. Kara propped up the pillow against Lena’s thigh and laid down, curling into a ball, and smiling up at Lena.

The brunette’s brows shot up at her. “You’re going to fall asleep on me.”

“Hit play, Luthor.”

Lena did as she was told, still looking skeptical. The two relaxed into the cushions, chuckling quietly at the antics on the screen. Kara almost made it an entire twenty minute episode before Lena looked down to see her eyes closed. 

She whispered, “You’re sleeping.”

Kara mumbled a _ No, m’not _, but kept her eyes closed all the same. 

Lena considered dragging the blonde into her bed and letting her get comfortable, but figured it would be better to just let her sleep. The couch wasn’t _ un _ comfortable. Lena had slept out there plenty of nights on her own accord. Selfishly, she _ was _ kind of enjoying the comfortable weight on her leg. 

She switched to a different show and the episodes rolled as she let her mind wander, winding down for the night. She looked down at the blonde snoozing below her and felt warm. 

Kara had become more and more of a fixture in her life. Her unwavering enthusiasm and sincerity never failed to brighten Lena’s day. The blonde burrowed further into her, damp hair falling over the front of face. Lena’s chest tightened as she battled the urge to gently brush the hair back behind her ear. 

She supposed it would be a harmless enough gesture, but at the same time it felt too… intimate. Lena enjoyed their time in the lab together, or nights out with Alex and Eve, but those were easier with a buffer. In their time alone, she became hyper aware of their micro-interactions. 

She’d been careful. She’d tried to keep the blonde at a healthy distance, to heed Alex’s warning. She’d been conscious to keep their interactions friendly, platonic. Or at least, she thought she had. 

The problem was that behind those platonic gestures or words, there was underlying _ want. _She thought that her initial excitement would pass. She was sure of it. But the opposite was becoming true. As time passed, Lena found herself less and less able to reason away her feelings for the girl. 

The sexual attraction, yes. Kara’s eyes, her smile, her blonde waves, her _ arms_, god, she was something out of a fantasy. No one could fault Lena for that. 

But the dagger was their emotional connection. The two had clicked in a way that Lena never had with another before. Hours could pass without any uncomfortable silence. They could joke, or be serious. They could confide in each other and be met with nothing but love and support. 

Well, _ love _ may be a little premature. But it didn’t _ not _feel like that. She cared for the girl more than she’d thought possible. She valued their friendship above all else. She wasn’t sure that Kara felt the same… but she suspected so.

Her eyes were no longer on the screen in front of her, but rather watching Kara sleep, watching the way her breathing had settled out, or the way her eyes darted underneath her lids.

She felt skeevy. Her stomach turned in on itself. She knew it wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair to Kara, or to Jack, or even to herself to carry on like this. She may not have crossed a physical line, but she was skirting the emotional line way too damn close. 

She knew in her heart what she needed to do. But what she knew she had to do was fucking scary. To leave Jack after _ years _ was terrifying. They had a home together. She moved across the country to be with him. He was the type of person that she had always imagined herself ending up with. 

But things change. 

She still loved him, but at some unknown point, or perhaps gradually -- things had changed. The realization made her nauseous. 

Kara shifted in her sleep, bringing Lena back into the moment. She sighed and gently slid herself out from the blonde, careful not to wake her. She stood and took one last moment to look at her curled peacefully into the couch. Lena smiled sadly to herself. 

Pulling her favorite blanket from the basket, she reverently draped it over Kara, clichés be damned. She sat on the coffee table and _ did _ brush back the hair from Kara’s face whispering a soft goodnight before heading off to her bedroom. 

She climbed into bed and made a resolve. She would bite the bullet and end things with Jack. He wouldn’t be back for a few days, though. She would do it in person. She at least owed him that. 

_______________

Lena had the week to work up the courage for the break up. She ran through different scenarios and hypotheticals over and over again. She had a game plan. In the end, she decided to ask him for dinner the night that he returned. They had plans for a date night anyways, and that felt harsh, almost ambush-like, but she figured that it had to be better than tiptoeing around him and continuing the charade. 

There really was never a _ right _ time for this sort of thing.

She’d arrived at the restaurant early, choosing a secluded booth in the back for some more privacy. Just in case. While she waited, she alternated between gulping her wine and picking at her fingernails. She compulsively checked her phone, hoping for a distraction, but none came. She was starting to feel sick. What if she was making the wrong decision? What if she was throwing away something good for nothing?

No. 

She knew herself. This was the right thing to do. She couldn’t keep going on in a relationship that she knew wasn’t all the way right. She would only regret it later. She was doing this. 

But still. She was about to devastate a man she loved. Maybe she should have picked a table closer to the bathroom. 

She was roused out of her spiral when Jack leant down into her line of sight. He swept in for a kiss and she quickly turned offering her cheek instead. 

“Hi,” she smiled at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes. 

“Hi. I missed you,” he said softly. “Did you already order?”

“Um, no. Not yet. Just the wine.”

“Shame,” he said picking up the menu. “I’m starving.” He looked around hopefully for the waiter. “Think they are going to bring us some bread?”

“I, uh, I, umm, don’t know…” Lena almost kept the quake out of her voice.

Jack looked up at her concerned. “Lena? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she took a deep breath, steeling herself. “Look, Jack -- _ Kara _?” 

Lena looked over his shoulder to see the blonde walking towards them in her standard joggers and team-issued quarter zip now that the winter, or what National City considered winter, had arrived. 

Jack turned in his chair seeing the blonde. He rose from his chair as she reached them. 

“The _ infamous _ Kara Danvers!” he cheered reaching his hand out for her to shake.

She accepted with a tight smile and looked to her friend, “Lena, hi!”

Lena looked unsure between the two, and shook herself out of the momentary whiplash. “Kara, hi... This is Jack.”

Kara turned back to the man. “I know!” she said replied. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. Lena has told me so much about you, I feel like we already know each other.”

“Likewise,” he smiled, releasing her and flexing his hand out. “That’s quite the grip you have there.”

Kara’s cheeks flushed. “Oh! My bad,” she said sheepishly. Jack continued to stand there awkwardly. Lena spoke up.

“Kara! What a complete and utter coincidence. What brings you here?”

The blonde looked at her guiltily. “Well... um, you mentioned that this place sounded good, and I needed dinner… so here I am?” she finished with an apologetic smile. 

“How fortunate for us!” Jack exclaimed. “Please, join us. That’s okay, right Lena?” He looked at her questioning. Before she could reply, Kara cut in.

“Oh no,” Kara said abashed. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your… uh, date night.”

Jack waved his hand at her and slid further into the booth. “Nonsense, I insist. I would love to get to know the person Lena cannot stop talking about.”

Kara hesitated and looked uncertainly at Lena, but the brunette simply shrugged, her eyes unreadable.

“Uh yeah, okay, that sounds nice. Thank you, Jack,” she smiled nervously as she dropped onto the bench next to him. “So… how’s the roll out going? _ BioMax _, right?”

“That’s right,” he smiled. “It’s going, but I’m sure you don’t want me to bore you with all of the details.” He pointed towards her chest. “I like your jacket. Rugby, huh?”

She looked down to read the words she already knew were there. “Yeah,” she said simply. 

“Hell yeah!” he fist bumped her. “I knew there was a reason Lena liked you. I used to play myself across the pond back in the day.”

Kara cocked her head to the side and her eyes lit up. “Oh yeah? What position?”

“Flanker. You?”

“I’m a 9,” she said with a hint of pride.

“Ah a scrummy! You must have been playing a while then, yeah?”

“Eh, just a couple of years, but what can I say? I have good hands,” she said wagging her eyebrows. Lena coughed into her drink. Kara shot her a worried glance, but Jack seemed not to notice.

“Haha I bet. Oh man, I’d love to catch a match. I haven’t seen a good one in ages.”

“You don’t _ say, _” she sung as she gave Lena a pointed look. “What are you doing tomorrow? We’ve got a home game in the afternoon. I’ve been trying to get Lena out there, but she refuses. Help me out here,” she pleaded.

“_Lena, _” he chided.

“You just got back!” she said defensively. _ I wasn’t planning on us being together tomorrow. _“I thought you might want to just take it easy.”

Jack smiled at her graciously. “Well thank you, my love, but—”, he turned back to Kara. “Pending my girlfriend’s approval, we would _ love _ to come watch the game.”

Kara’s rigid smile returned and she looked to Lena for an answer.

“Yes,” Lena said tightly. “We would love to, Kara.”

“I’ll see you two at 3pm sharp then,” she said looking pleased with herself.

“Fantastic!” Jack agreed. “Well what d’you say we get ourselves some more wine and enjoy dinner together?”

He reached for the bottle on the table and poured a glass for himself and Kara, topping Lena off, and killing the bottle. He raised his glass in the air, waiting for them to do the same.

“To new friends and nights spent with beautiful women,” he toasted.

“Cheers to that!” Kara clinked him enthusiastically.

“Cheers,” Lena said quietly. _ So much for a game plan _.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep driving around thinking about this and getting ideas for deleted scene or mini Kara POV type drabbles. May or may not follow through on that, but if I do, I'll probably just post them over on tumblr @bdelizabeth 
> 
> thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was going to put this first scene at the beginning of the next chapter, but choices were made. it's time, yeah?

She’d been a coward. 

Plain and simple.

She and Jack had left their impromptu dinner with Kara late and he was just so _ happy. _ He’d held her hand every step of the way home. And with every step she felt herself weighed down further and further with _ dread _ and panicked. She _ tried _to say the words a thousand times, she did, but nothing came out. 

When he called her to bed, she waved him off, settling into the couch with the excuse that her back hurt and she needed the support. 

One more night. She would think it over one more night and see how she felt in the morning. 

But morning came and nothing had changed. She felt the way that she felt and there was no denying it any further. She lay there and listened for movement in the bedroom. An hour passed, and then two. 

The longer that she waited, the more that she felt doubt creep back in. What was she doing? Throwing away a happy life together on a possibility? On a whim? 

No, not a whim. She didn’t know what would become of her and Kara, or even if there would _ be _a her and Kara, but she knew she had to try. She knew in her heart that she had to try. She wouldn’t let herself be the person that looked back five years from now with regret. She knew herself. She knew what she wanted. She always had if she were being honest with herself. She had to try. 

Finally, _ finally, _ she heard shuffling around the room and the shower coming on. She felt her anxiety building up in her throat and willed it to settle.

Jack emerged with a towel slung around his waist. 

“Good morning, love,” he said with a sleepy smile. 

She locked eyes with him, steeling herself. “Jack, we need to talk.”

He pretended to be taken aback. “How _ ominous _. Are you breaking up with me?” he joked. 

At seeing her eyes immediately well, he dropped into the armchair looking stricken. “Oh God, you’re breaking up with me.”

“I’m sorry,” she choked out. 

He rushed over to her, putting his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her into himself as she began to cry. He held her, waiting for her shaking to subside as tears formed in his own eyes. 

When her racking sobs settled into silent tears, he pulled back, still keeping her close. “Lena, _ please _,” he begged quietly. “Please talk to me.”

She looked up at him, her face still contorted and whispered, “I can’t do this anymore.”

He dropped his head, looking up to catch her eyes. “Can’t do what? Please, Lena.”

She used her sleeve to wipe away the mixture of tears and snot running down her face and curled into herself. She stared into hurt eyes, but said nothing, silently pleading with him to understand. 

“I know I’ve been traveling too much,” he guessed. “I haven’t been here for you. I can cut back my hours. I can tell them I can’t travel anymore. I’ll quit. Please, Lena, I love you so much. You’re more important to me than any job. You have to know that --”

“It’s not that,” she sniffled. 

“Then _ what _? What is it? I’m begging you, please talk to me. We can fix whatever it is.”

She shook her head, renewed tears streaming, “We can’t.”

“Try me.” He tried to smile, but it fell. 

“It’s not you --”

“_Don’t, _ ” he cut her off, both his voice and body rising. “Don’t give me that. After _ two years _ you owe me more than that.”

If she was surprised by his sudden change in tone, she didn’t show it. She took a deep breath and watched him begin to pace small circles in front of her. She wrapped her arms around her torso. “I know. I know that…. I’m sorry...” 

He knelt in front of her, crouching down to place his hands on her elbows. “What are you sorry for? Did something happen? Realization dawned on him, and he fell back onto the coffee table, letting her go. “There’s someone else.”

He saw all of the truth that he needed to in her face. “Oh, Lena… no. No, no no no no no.” 

He didn’t look angry. It would be easier if he were angry. This was worse. She felt like a _ monster _. 

“Nothing happened,” she whispered.

He leaned back against the counter and stared into the floor, speaking low. “If nothing happened, you wouldn’t be doing this.” 

“I’m not lying. I wouldn’t do that to you, I swear,” she pled. She reached out to him, but he pulled away from her.

He kept his voice chillingly even. “If nothing happened you wouldn’t be throwing away everything that we’ve built together. Our lives, our home, our _ future, _for nothing.” He paused, looking up at her not with malice, just pain. “Christ, Lena, how could you do this to us?” he asked in an almost-laugh, his voice cracking at the end.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” she said softly. She tried to think of literally anything else to say, but her mind was a blank. She didn’t _ want _ to hurt him, but there was no avoiding it. 

“Just… just give me a minute. Let me put on some clothes. Don’t leave... please.”

He disappeared into the bedroom and reappeared in jeans and a Henley.

Given a moment to think, he changed tactics. “If you’re sorry, then we can work through this,” he said hopefully. “People get through these things all the time. I will fight for you, Lena Luthor. Give me the chance and I will fight for you with everything in me.”

“Please, Jack. That’s not what I want,” she pled. 

He sighed, looking defeated. “There’s _ nothing _ I can do to change your mind.” He’d meant it as a question, but it came out as a concession. 

She shook her head sadly. 

“Do I know him?” 

“_Her _,” she spoke, barely audible. 

“Her,” he repeated softly, thinking. “...Kara.” Again, not a question. 

She looked up in surprise, confirming his suspicion. 

He sighed loudly, prying her hands from around her body and holding them gently. “I love you.” He chuckled humorlessly to himself. “I’m _ always _going to love you.” 

She gave him a pitying look, debating her next words before speaking them sincerely, softly. “I still love you, too.”

“You’re just not _ in _ love with me.” 

With the slightest movement, she shook her head, her face scrunching up to fend off another round of tears. They sat together in silence. Jack leaned forward to brush her hair back and wipe her face for her and she let him. 

“How could I not see it?” he asked himself quietly, sounding like he had not meant to say it aloud at all. 

He continued. “She makes you happy?”

“So happy,” Lena said, smiling through her tears. “I just hope she feels the same.”

“She does.”

“You can’t know that.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “I spent one night with her and, trust me, she does.”

He smiled sadly and moved to sit next to her again, wrapping her silently in his arms.

She turned to search his face. “You’re being so mature about all of this. I don’t deserve it. You should hate me… Why don’t you hate me?”

“I could never hate you,” he said as if it were that simple. “...Well, pending that you don’t throw all of my things out onto the street. How many break-up clichés do we want to knock out here?”

Lena laughed genuinely for the first time all morning and bumped him with her shoulder. “I’m not going to throw all of your things out,” she promised. “We do need to figure out what to do about all of this though,” she gestured around the apartment. 

“It’s your name on the lease. It’s yours.” 

“What about you?”

He waved his hand in front of him in a swatting gesture. “Ah you know me. I’ll figure’t out… As much fun as it would be to live with my ex-girlfriend...” He side-eyed her, sniffling slightly. 

She gave him a small, final kiss to his cheek and he smiled into the contact. “Thank you, Jack,” she said sincerely, getting up from the couch. She glanced around, contemplating her next move. “If you don’t mind, I think I need to get out of here for a bit. Fresh air and all that.”

“‘Course,” he nodded his head.

She scooped up her keys and phone from the counter, still in the sweats she had slept in, and was gone.

The weight of the situation hit her fully once she was alone in the car. She let herself cry freely. The good, therapeutic, ugly crying that she was unaccustomed to. A battle in her heart waged, feeling both shame and sorrow at causing someone she loved so much pain, but also a sense of happiness, of freedom in a clean slate. And for that she felt guilt. 

She drove aimlessly, through a fittingly rainy National City, taking turns seemingly at random, but before she knew it, some subconscious wish took her only a block from Kara’s house. It was about lunchtime, not too early to show up unannounced, she supposed. Besides, she needed her best friend, time be damned. 

She parked her car on the curb and ran up the sidewalk avoiding as much rain as possible. She gave herself a moment to collect herself at the front door, running a hand through wet tangles, before knocking. 

Four, five seconds, no answer. She tried again, a little louder this time and waited, finally hearing shuffling from within before the door swung wide to reveal the Danvers she _ wasn’t _ looking for.

“You look like shit, Luthor.” 

And that shouldn’t have made Lena start crying, but she did. 

“Fuck,” Alex muttered, sighing. “Come… come here.” She pulled Lena into the world’s stiffest hug, but Lena let her. She burrowed into the older girl’s chest, trying not to get any bodily fluids on her sweater. The last thing she needed was to make this any more awkward than it already was. 

“Um, Kara. Is Kara here?” she asked pulling away.

“No, everybody’s already at the fields for call time.”

“...What are you doing here then?” Lena asked.

“Free booze,” Alex said as if it were the most obvious explanation. “Come on, get in here. Kara would kill me if I let you leave like this.”

Lena chuckled and shot her a look. “Oh, but you would?”

“Yeah, duh,” she said with a smirk. 

Lena stepped into the house and surveyed it. “I’ve never actually been inside here,” she said. “Kara always waits outside for me to pick her up.” 

The house was nice enough, a modern two-story laneway, but it definitely showed the wear and tear of college life. Liquor bottles lined the tops of the kitchen cabinets off to the right. To the left was a living room with a large TV was surrounded by plush sectionals. The decor was an odd mix of Pinterest projects, Christmas lights strung haphazardly, movie posters, and NCU rugby memorabilia. The floors throughout were dark treated concrete, surely to prevent replacing stained carpets with each new tenant. Lena could even see a decently-sized backyard through the back windows. 

Alex followed her gaze and laughed. “Not surprising. I’m sure she was protecting you from the chaos.” She gestured around with her hand. “This place is basically a frat house. There’s only four of them on the lease, but I swear to God I counted nine the other night.” 

Alex walked into the kitchen and Lena followed, pulling herself onto a bar stool. 

“So here’s what’s going to happen,” she said pulling two bottles from the fridge and twisting off the caps. “You’re going to drink this, and then another, and you’re going to tell me what’s wrong.”

Lena sighed. “Jack and I broke up.”

“_No_,” she gasped, eyes wide and leaning against the other side of the countertop. 

“Yes.”

“Lena… _ shit _. Are you okay?”

Lena gave her a small smile and gestured to her face. “Do I look okay?”

“Fair.” Alex shrugged. “But seriously.”

“Seriously? … I’ll be okay, I’m just sad you know? A little worried that I just ruined my life... a little... not.”

“Damn,” Alex took a swig. “How did he take it?”

Lena raised a brow at her. “How do you know _ I _ broke up with _ him _?”

She scoffed, shaking her head. “Because someone would have to be an actual moron to break up with you. Look at you. Well -- look at you any other time.”

“Awww, you _ do _ like me,” Lena sang, feeling lighter. 

“Shut the fuck up. So much for trying to be nice.”

Lena smiled and picked at the label on her beer in thought. “He took it better than I could have expected, honestly. He was _ nice _ about it. Heartbroken, but nice.”

“Do you think you’ll stay friends, or go cold turkey?”

“Friends, I hope,” Lena mused. “He was my best friend for so long. It would be weird not to have him in my life. Or maybe it’ll be weirder to have him in it. I don’t really know. I guess we’ll see.”

“That’s good,” Alex said noncommittally. “Better than my last break up.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked, grateful for the distraction. “You’ve never mentioned it.”

“Yeah,” Alex raised her eyebrows staring down the mouth of her bottle. “Maggie. We ended things and she packed up, skipped town, and I haven’t heard from her since.”

“Shit. Was it serious?”

“I thought we were going to get married,” Alex smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Lena said reaching out to lay her hand briefly on the other girl’s.

“It was a while ago. I’m okay now.” Alex stared at the counter for a moment before shaking herself out of it. “Hey Lena?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you break up with Jack?”

Lena ducked her head and tossed the label shreds onto the counter into a small pile. She took a moment to contemplate how honest she wanted to be.

“It just wasn’t right anymore. We wanted different things.”

“Different things,” Alex considered, eyeing Lena. 

“Yeah, different things.” Lena killed her beer in one go. “Hey, I think I need to lie down. Do you mind if I crash for a bit?”

Alex was still staring at her but decided to let that one go. “That’s fine. But I’m leaving for Kara’s game in a little bit. Are you going to go? You’re going to go.”

Lena hummed. “Yeah, I’m going to go. I wasn’t sure if they were still going to play with the weather.”

Alex shrugged. “That never seems to stop them. I think it’s supposed to clear up in a bit anyways.”

“Ok, can I just take the couch?”

“You sure you don’t want to take Kara’s bed? I can’t promise how clean it is up there, but it’s all yours if you want it.”

Lena looked up the staircase off the living room, mulling it over it for a moment, but declined. “No, the couch is okay. I don’t want to invade her space.”

“Fine, I will then,” she said, grabbing a couple more bottles from the fridge. “I’ll be upstairs but make yourself at home. The bathroom’s down the hall, second door on the left, and I’ll come get you in an hour or so?”

“Thanks, Alex,” Lena said moving over to the couch and pulling a blanket off of the back.

“No problem, kid.”

“And Alex?” she called after her.

“Yeah?”

“Could you… could you not tell Kara? Not yet. I want her to hear it from me.”

Alex gave her a sympathetic smile and mimed zipping her lips closed. 

“Thank you,” Lena said quietly waving her away. 

_______________

“Leeeenaaaa,” a voice sang.

“It’s not time yet,” she grumbled, keeping her eyes firmly closed. 

“It is. Get up.”

“No.”

“You have thirty seconds before I drag you off that couch.”

Lena conceded, rubbing her eyes and checking the time on her phone. “I still have, like… twenty minutes,” she pouted.

“Aw, you’re cute when you’re sleepy. Get up.” Alex motioned up and down her body. “Unless you want to go looking like… that.”

Lena looked down at herself and had to admit she’d looked better. She was still in her pajamas from the night before and knew her face had to be looking rough after a morning of crying away the remnants of yesterday’s eyeliner. 

“Point taken,” she looking overly deflated. “I don’t have any other clothes or makeup or anything, though.”

“I thought of that!” Alex said brightly. She tossed the pile next to her hitting Lena square in the face. Lena glared at her, but accepted them anyways. “I pulled some stuff out of Kara’s closet that should fit. Maybe not your style, but beggars and choosers and all.”

Alex nudged her. “Go shower, fix your face, and I’ll make us some drinks to go.”

Lena smirked at her. “I like your style.”

“I gotchu,” Alex winked at her. “Hurry up. I don’t want to be late.”

Lena rushed up the stairs and chose one of the shared bathrooms at random. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it was cleaner than she’d expected. She tried out the different shampoos and conditioners at random, careful to put everything back exactly as she found it. She doubted the person would care, but still, respect. 

Freshly showered and feeling better, Lena riffled through the clothes Alex had given her, finding a pair of jeans and a plain gray, long-sleeved tee with the rugby team’s logo printed onto a front pocket. The jeans were long enough that they needed to be cuffed, but otherwise were rather flattering on herself, she had to admit as she checked her ass over in the floor-length mirror hung over the back of the door. She wasn’t brave enough to steal whoever’s makeup was spread across the counter, so all naturalle it was. Thank god for dark lashes. 

She came downstairs to Alex in her usual leather jacket leaning against the counter with a large tumbler in each hand. 

“You’re driving,” Alex stated, handing her a cup.

They made their way to the fields, and though the rain had stopped, the atmosphere remained generally dismal. They chose a dry-ish spot halfway up the bleachers and Lena looked down to search for Kara among the players warming up on the pitch. 

The blonde seemed to have already noticed them come in. She smoothed a hand over her hair and gave Lena a small wave when they locked eyes, smiling widely, before running into a passing drill. Small though the gesture was, it still set her stomach fluttering.

She watched the lithe players weave through their warm-ups and wondered how it was statistically possible for the team to be this _ hot. _ Each player taller and leaner than the prior. Maybe she should have started coming to Kara’s games sooner. 

While they waited, Lena browsed a few websites explaining the basics of the game, though the vocabulary was losing her fast. Whatever, she’d figure it out. 

“Which one of these is Kara?” she asked Alex, holding her phone out to show a basic player diagram.

“The 9 in the middle,” she said pointing. “She’s basically like… a quarterback? No, that's more the 10...” she trailed off. Alex took the phone from her and began zooming in here and there. “Look, there’s the forwards bunched up here. They take most of the contact and bang through the defense,” she explained. “Then here in the back, there’s the… well, the backs. Usually smaller and faster the farther to the outside that they are lined up. Those are the quicker, more evasive players. Kara is the link in the middle.”

“Sounds... important?” Lena guessed. “Did you ever play?”

“Nah. Team sports have always been more Kara’s thing, but I’ve been to enough of these things to pick up a thing or two.” She nodded in the direction of the field. “Looks like they are about to kick-off.”

Lena watched as the opposition lined up in a flat line and Kara’s team spread wide to scatter across the other half of the field, ready to receive a high kick from the opposition. The moment the ball fell into a tall dark girl’s hands, everything fell into chaos. Players scattered. A constant stream of _ Up! Bump right! Get back! With you! On your left! _carried into the stands. 

Lena struggled to keep up with the play as the women pitched the ball out, colliding brutally into the opposition. With every tackle, the players swarmed each other, using their bodies to push their way over the ball. 

At one point, a whistle blew and everyone stood straight and regrouped to form two clouds of dueling bodies. Kara grabbed for the ball and stood to the side of the mess.

“What are they doing?” Lena asked out of the side of her mouth, her eyes locked onto the pitch. 

“Scrum.”

“Because that explains it,” Lena deadpanned. 

“A scrum. It’s a reset after a... penalty kind of. The players bind onto each other in a tight pack. Kara is going to roll the ball into the middle and they are going to use their feet to push the other team back until Kara can get to the ball at the back of the scrum. Watch.”

Just as she said, the referee called something out to the players and bodies locked together. Kara gracefully spun the ball into the center of the opposing packs. As soon as the ball touch the ground, bodies clashed and inches were gained by the blues. Kara darted around to the back foot of the last player and scooped the ball out, sending it spiraling to a tall blonde. 

As the game passed, Lena asked questions here and there and started to get the basics down. Run forward, but don’t pass forward. Protect the ball on the ground. Get to the endzone, kick a… field goal? 

Once she got past the sheer brutality of the sport, Lena appreciated the rhythm of it all. The ball moved in a pattern. Catch the ball, run forward, pass the ball out to the next player -- sometimes before taking contact, sometimes through it. Repeat. 

Kara was on fire, and it was doing something to Lena to see her in action. The tight uniform provided a generous view of the cut muscle that Kara was so proud of. 

She was pleased to see that Kara was mainly a distributor, but even then she took her fair share of hits. Lena’s chest tightened as a particularly large woman ran with the ball straight at Kara. She flinched at the moment of impact, but Kara lowered herself and brought the player down immediately, popping back up in a second. _ Damn _. 

The other team seemed to be much bigger than NCU’s squad, but they didn’t have the speed to match them. The blues darted around, narrowly missing being tackled, and wove around each other to dive into the end zones and score a _ try _, she learned it was called.

By midway through the second half, the ground had turned mostly to mud and the jerseys became difficult to distinguish. At one point, Kara ran the ball into contact and emerged with half of her face _ covered _, the whites of her teeth looking even brighter in contrast.

The more she understood, the more enthralled she became with the game. 

After being blindsided, one of the smaller girls on Kara’s team went down in the middle of the field and stayed there holding her shoulder. The ball moved away and the play carried on without her.

“What was that ref!?_ ” _ Lena yelled. She turned to Alex lowering her voice. “She’s _ hurt. _ Aren’t they going to do something? Stop play? I don’t know, _ help her? _”

“Nope, no blood,” Alex said evenly, still glued to the play.

“That’s barbaric.”

Alex shrugged. “That’s rugby.”

They watched blow after blow as the ball moved across the pitch. 

With minutes left, NCU had gained a wide lead and the tempers from the opposition were starting to show. Play became scrappier. Tackles came in harder and the scuffles seemed to become less about getting the ball and more about hitting the girl. 

Throughout the game, Kara had been able to keep her composure for the most part, but the cracks were forming at seeing her teammates fouled. Her voice picked up in intensity as she barked out calls to her teammates. She took the ball more and more instead of passing. She came out from tackles scowling, her eyes fiery.

One of her teammates was brought down, and instead of placing the ball on the ground behind her for Kara to pick up, she popped the ball into the air as Kara ran onto her. The ball stuck firmly into Kara’s hands and she found a hole in the defense, breaking away into a sprint. She was almost in the clear. She was going to score!

Lena jumped to her feet, bouncing on her toes and loudly cheering her on.

Kara darted up the center of the field, making a short, stuttering-stepped cut to the outside past the final defender and ran into the back corner of the field. Instead of placing the ball onto the ground in the corner, as the other players had done, she moved perpendicularly and ran towards the goal posts in the center of the zone, easing up on her speed. 

Just as she was leaning down to place the ball on the grass between the posts, a defender flew in out of nowhere and lowered her shoulder into Kara, sending her flying back. Her scream of _ Fuck! _ floated all the way back to the stands. 

She rolled on the ground holding her face as two NCU players swarmed the opposing player, pushing her in the chest and yelling angrily in her face. It looked as though they were seconds from a brawl, but Lena’s only focus was Kara. Her heart seized seeing her in pain. Kara got up slowly, still holding her face. She pulled her hand away revealing an alarming amount of blood.

“Fuck, Alex,” Lena gasped, eyes wide and hands flying to cover her mouth. 

“I see it,” Alex said, all business. “Stay here. I’m going to check on her.” 

“Like hell,” Lena spat, moving to follow after Alex.

Alex spun back to her and placed a hand on her chest. “Lena, stay. Let me handle it,” she said with a glare that stopped Lena in her tracks. 

She nodded dumbly and sat back down, looking as though she’d been stricken, as Alex hopped down the bleachers towards the home team’s bench.

The referee had separated the players on the field and regained control of the game. As a thin brunette was lining up a kick, Kara was being walked off the field by one of her teammates, arms slung over each other. Her teammate appeared to be attempting to calm her down, but Kara scowled and looked back over her shoulder at the girl who had hit her, shaking her head angrily. 

Lena had never seen this side of Kara, this intensity, but she couldn’t blame her. Lena wanted to go fight that bitch herself. It was a dirty hit. They’d already fucking made it to the try zone. 

On the sidelines, Alex met Kara and gently grabbed her shoulder with one hand, swatting Kara’s hands away to inspect the damage with the other. They spoke quietly to each other and Kara looked over Alex’s shoulder, giving Lena a weak, reassuring smile, the effect of which was lessened by the red-orange hue of her teeth. 

Lena took it back, she hated this sport.

A team medic appeared and began wiping away the blood and bandaging the gash across the bridge of her nose. All the while, Lena craned her neck over the heads of the other spectators to watch them, the game long forgotten. 

A whistle signaled the end of the match and Kara was pulled away for the team huddle. Lena gathered up their things and made her way down to the field. She awkwardly stood off to the side as the players kneeled around their coach and were eventually dismissed. 

The team walked back the bench all smiles from the win -- slapping backs, pulling each other into side hugs, and holding out their jerseys to compare whose was the muddiest. Each time Kara was approached, Lena watched her force a smile onto her face, but each time she was left alone, she saw the facade fall. She was pissed. 

She returned to where Alex was waiting and pulled off her cleats, throwing them into a bag with more force than necessary. Alex leaned close to her, putting a comforting hand on her back. They were too far for Lena to hear, but as the older girl spoke, Kara’s face softened until she eventually chuckled to herself nodding her head. 

Lena heard Alex shriek as Kara pulled her into a tight hug, absolutely destroying the front of Alex’s shirt. That only encouraged Kara to hold her tighter, laughing fully now and rocking them back and forth. She let go and Alex moved off to talk with some of the other girls. 

Kara made a beeline for Lena, face filled with mischief and arms held wide as she approached. 

Lena put both hands out in front of her and gave her a warning glare, taking a couple of steps back. “Don’t you dare.” 

“Aw c’mon, Lena!” Kara juked side to side as if she were going to lunge for her. “You’re not gonna hug me after I scored that try _ just _ for you?”

“Not a goddamn chance!” Lena laughed. She ran a couple steps away when Kara broke out into a chase. “I swear to God_..._ _Kara!_” she squealed_._

“Okay, okay, I give,” she laughed, throwing her palms out in surrender and stopping just short of the brunette. “Besides,” she wiggled her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t want to ruin my favorite shirt.”

Lena blushed, smiling into herself. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it back to you.”

“Keep it,” Kara said quickly, scanning Lena’s body, eyes sticking to her chest a touch longer, before moving on. “It, um… it looks nice on you.”

She quirked her brow, feeling bold from her buzz. “Oh, you think?” she said modeling and flashing her a coy smirk. 

Kara rubbed at the back of her neck and stared a hole in the ground. “Well… yeah, always.”

_ Noted. _ Switching gears, she reached out to nudge Kara on the shoulder. “Congrats on the win. You were _ amazing _ out there. Honestly, so good.”

“Well I had to!” Kara chirped, looking pleased with herself. “The pressure was on. I had a pretty girl to impress in the stands.”

“Alex _ was _ pretty impressed,” she deflected, smirking. “Right up until the end...” She stepped further into Kara’s space and lifted her hand towards her nose, already beginning to swell. She softened her voice, becoming serious. “Are you okay?”

Before Kara could answer, one of her teammates swooped her into a headlock, pulling Kara into a hunch. “Danvers! Who’s your hot friend?”

Kara shucked her off, laughing, careful to keep her face clear of swinging limps. “This is Lena. Lena, Sara Lance.”

She recognized the girl from Kara’s instagram, the same one that she has been jealous over months before… and since. Sara was all hard angles, tall and slender, with strong eyebrows contrasting against pale skin, crystal light blue eyes, and light freckles dusting her cheeks. 

She stepped between them, far from subtly appraising Lena with raised eyebrows and a smirk. “So _ this _ is Lena. I can see what you’ve been talk --”

“So yeah, now you guys have met. That’s cool. See you later, dude.” Kara cut over her, silently pleading for her to _ shut the fuck up _.

“What?” Sara asked innocently. “No need to rush me off. I’m just being friendly. Right, Lena?”

Lena chuckled, teasing. “She’s just being friendly, Kara. It’s fine.” 

“See?” Sara nudged Kara with her shoulder, still watching the brunette. “She’s fine,” she winked. 

“Please stop,” Kara muttered quietly.

“Fine, fine. I’ll go, but we’ll see you later?” She saw confusion pass over Lena’s face and sweetened her tone. “To the party tonight. Our place. If Kara won’t ask you out... with us, then _ I _will.” 

Kara bit back whatever she was going to come back with and breathed out, calmly plastering a smile on her face. “Lena, would you like to come to my party tonight?” At seeing Sara’s thirsty stare, she clarified. “As my guest? And Jack. You and Jack,” she added quickly.

Lena looked between them, clearly amused. “I would love to.”

“Hell yeah!” Sara exclaimed. “Well, I’ll let you two… catch up.” She leant into the blonde’s ear to whisper-yell. “Just not too long. Don’t think you’re getting out of field take down, Danvers.” She flashed a smile in Lena’s direction. “See you tonight, Lena.”

They watched her walk off and Kara turned back to Lena. “So yeah, sorry about her. She’s not usually so... yeah, no, actually she is. Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, she’s fun,” Lena said, reaching out to place her hand on Kara’s elbow. “And hey, if you didn’t want me to go tonight, it’s fine. I know it’s a team thing...”

“No!” Kara rushed out. “I want you to come! Please come. Bring Jack, too. I would have said something… I just thought, you know, he just got back in town, and you guys haven’t seen each other much lately, and --”

“_Kara_,” she pled, the darkness returning momentarily. She brushed it away before Kara noticed. “I’m free tonight. I’d love to go. Just me. No Jack.”

Kara broke into a blinding smile, wincing slightly at the stretch on her nose. “Awesome. That’s awesome, then, if you’re sure.”

She scuffed a socks-and-sandaled foot across the ground, looking around guiltily. “Hey, I don’t mean to ditch you or anything, but I really should be helping with the field take down. Can you stick around? We can go get some food maybe?” she asked hopefully. 

Lena fiddled with her keys and considered it, but knew she probably shouldn’t. As much as she was dreading it, she needed to get back and work out the details with Jack. 

She wanted to tell Kara about the break up, but the timing was off. She didn’t want to bring the mood down when Kara had just cheered back up. 

“I have some things I need to take care of. I’ll see you tonight though? What time should I get there?”

Kara’s face dropped slightly. “Yeah, that’s cool. Maybe 9:30 ish?”

“Ok, I’ll see you then. I’ll, um, let you get to it, I guess.” she said motioning to the activity behind Kara. 

“Okay,” Kara said, though she wasn’t moving. “Hey, Lena?” she asked. 

“Mmm?”

“Thank you for coming today. It really meant a lot to me to have you here,” Kara spoke softly and damn it if Lena didn’t feel that in her chest. 

“Of course,” she smiled. “Put some ice on that, yeah?”

“Yes ma’am,” Kara said cheerily giving her a salute before running off to help the others. 

Lena sighed, watching her run off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all's feedback is awesome, i really appreciate it!! thanks for reading!  
tumblr @bdelizabeth


	5. Chapter 5

Lena returned to an empty apartment. “Jack?” she called out. No reply came. She set her keys down on the counter, finding a note lying there in Jack’s messy scrawl. 

_ Lena, _

_ I’m heading to Midway for a few days. They needed me out there next week anyways and I’m sure that we could both use the time and space apart. I’ll look for another place while I’m gone and come for my things when I get back. _

_ Please know that I don’t hate you. I could never. Since the day we met, all I’ve ever wanted was your happiness... While I’d hoped with everything in me that I could have been the one to give you that happiness, you’ve made it clear that that’s no longer the case. Know I’ll always be here for you. _

_ All my love, _ _   
_ _ Jack _

She sighed in relief and felt once more thankful for his understanding. This had been a rollercoaster of a day and it was barely five. With hours to go until she would arrive at Kara’s, she buzzed with nervous energy. 

She pittered around the apartment doing some light cleaning, but that only burned a half hour, so she set to work gathering up some of Jack’s things for him -- unplugging game consoles, separating out their kitchen wares, packing books and drawings into a box. Thankfully, the majority of the furniture and decor had been throwaways from the Luthor estate.

On the other hand… she wouldn’t mind freshening up the place… Maybe Jack could take a few things off of her hands. 

She’d received a few sporadic updates from Kara throughout the evening -- snaps of her and the team at their usual post-match patio, a short video of two lines of players sitting cross-legged on the pavement rushing through a chug relay, cases of beer and soda thrown into a shopping cart, and one of her and Sara dancing around the bathroom while they got ready.

An hour to go until she needed to leave finally arrived and her attention turned to the night ahead of her. Part of her just wanted to stay in and avoid the world, but the other part of her felt an almost magnetic pull towards spending more time with Kara. Besides, it would be a fun distraction. It had been a while since she had been invited to a party. Not a game night, not a family-sponsored gala, but a proper party. 

She mixed herself a drink to loosen up, downed it, and made another as she began tearing through her closet, leaving a wake a strewn clothes across her bed.

With each outfit thrown on and off of her body, she grew more and more frustrated. Nothing felt _ right. _ Her normal flannels and sweaters feeling too casual, her dresses feeling like overkill for a rugby party. In the end, she selected her best pair of light-wash skinny jeans and a forest green silk tank top that not only brought out the color of her eyes, but had the added bonus of offering a generous view of her cleavage. 

She spent an inordinate amount of time styling into her hair into what she’d hoped looked like casual waves, falling just past her collarbone, and layered a smoky finish to her eyes. Just as she finished applying a shade of maroon to her lips, a little after 10, her phone buzzed. Kara asking her where she was and to _ hurrrry lennnaaa! _

She gave herself a final once over and felt good. She looked _ good _. She typed out a short reply to Kara and called for a car. As she waited, she poured herself a shot. Just a little liquid courage.

This was her first night in a long while as a single woman and she was going to spend it with the person she had been dancing around for months of all people. She felt giddy at the possibility. The possibility of _ what _ remained to be seen, but she knew where she wanted the night to go. Parties meant drinking, and drinking led to touching, and touching led to... yeah, she was excited about the possibility.

Her Uber pulled onto Kara’s street and the party appeared to be in full swing. Cars lined the curbs and a muted thumping pulsed out from the house. She plucked her bottle of wine from the seat next to her and thanked her driver for the ride. 

As she approached the doorstep, she felt electric, almost gittery. She ran a hand through her hair, shaking it out, and wiped a palm down her thighs. Breathing deep, she plastered a confident smile on her face and knocked hard on the front door.

“Lena!” Kara cheered, leaping into her arms, Lena just barely catching her. “You made it!”

“I made it,” Lena laughed, lingering in the contact, breathing her in, before pulling away. At the sight of the blonde, her eyes bulged. “Oh my god, Kara, your _ face _.”

Kara had on her thick frame glasses and seemed to be under the impression that they could possibly disguise the bandage across the bridge of her nose and matching dark patches underneath each eye. The swelling had gone down since the afternoon, but still, was a pretty grisly look. 

Kara moved to cover her face with one hand, waving Lena off with the other. “S’nothing.”

“It’s _ not _ nothing!” Lena reached up, tipping the frames out of the way and ghosting her thumb over Kara’s cheek. “ _ Kara...” _

Kara covered her hand, gently pulling it away. When Lena looked up, Kara was staring softly back at her. “I’m okay, really,” she assured. “It’s worse than it looks.”

Lena frowned at her, looking down to see their hands still clasped. She pulled hers away, coughing and used both hands to fiddle with the bottle. “I, um, I think you mean it’s _ better _ than it looks.”

“Yeah, that,” Kara chuckled, stepping out of her space. “All good, I promise.”

“If you say so…” Lena said, doubt evident in her tone. In the moment of silence, Lena surveyed her. Her lips upturned on the edge. “You _ do _clean up nice at least.”

Kara was more polished than Lena was used to seeing her. In place of her usual athletic wear, she opted for a crisp, loose fitting blue Oxford with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, tattered jean shorts, white high-top chucks, and her favorite snapback turned to the back of her head. 

Kara shimmied her shoulders, looking pleased with herself, and plucked at the fabric at her chest, airing it out. “I try sometimes,” she said. “You’re not half bad yourself,” she remarked, scanning Lena up and down and winking. “This is nice,” she hummed, playing with the hem of Lena’s shirt.

“Whatever,” she brushed her off, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. 

“Just being honest,” Kara shrugged. “Well... ladies first!” She side-stepped, letting Lena walk in front of her with her hand grazing her lower back as they went. 

Lena supposed she’d expected a scene from a bad college movie, and she wasn’t too far off. There was no keg in sight, but liquor bottles and empty cans covered most surfaces, evidence that their night had started much earlier. The lights were low, relying only on the strung Christmas lights, and it looked as though the normal lamp bulbs had been replaced with a variety of blues, purples, and greens. A hip hop video playlist rang out from the TV.

The house was filled with a mix of friends and girls she assumed were the other players, though not too crowded to the point of making it difficult to navigate. Kara kept her hand on her back regardless, guiding her through the entry.

Couches had been pushed to the edges of the room to make space for an impromptu dance floor and a folding table littered with red plastic cups. She recognized Sara paired at the end of the table with another beautifully tall blonde (seriously, where did they find these girls?) squaring off in a pong game. Lena gave her a brief wave, catching her eye.

“There you are! Finally!” Sara yelled over the music, her eyes lighting up. “Now you can stop staring at the door, Danvers!”

Lena peaked over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows accusingly at Kara.

“Pft. She’s kidding, _ obviously, _” Kara shot back.

_ I’m not. _Sara mouthed, exaggeratedly shaking her head. 

“Mhmm, sure,” Lena hummed. Maybe it was the alcohol settling into her system, but she felt lighter all of a sudden.

“Whatever, wanna come play with us?” Kara asked, jerking her head back towards the kitchen. 

“Sure,” she laughed. “What’re we playing?”

Kara scooped up her hand and pulled her through the crowd towards the group seated around a rounded dinner table in the next room, and Lena let her, even feeling bold enough to intertwine their fingers. 

“Just King’s Cup. You know how to play?” Kara asked, smirking down at their joined hands.

Lena rolled her eyes, following behind. “Yes, Kara. I’m not an actual hermit.”

“Well!” Kara laughed. “You never come out! Here, c’mere,” she said, leading her to the only empty chair wedged into the circle. 

Lena eyed it warily. “I don’t want to take your spot...”

“We can share!” Kara assured her, dropping onto the edge and patting the small space beside her. Lena gave in, sliding in and pushing herself flush to Kara to keep from falling off of the edge. Kara swept her arm around the back of the chair to make more room, turning her front slightly into Lena’s side in the process.

“Comfortable?” Lena smirked, nudging her with her shoulder.

“Yep,” Kara chirped, grinning at her. “Guys, this is Lena!”

“Oh, you _don’t_ _say?_” the white-haired girl mocked. Kara flipped her off as the group went around introducing themselves. Lena’s brain kicked into gear, quickly associating names to faces. She could do this. _Zari, Charlie, Leslie, Brainy, Nia --_

“Hey, I recognize you,” she said the young brunette next to her. “You went down pretty hard today. Are you okay?”

“Ah, she’s fine,” Charlie, a heavily-pierced girl, drawled. “Betta than this one, at least,” she said jerking her head at Kara. “Lena, you need a drink? You’re up.”

“Got it covered,” Lena replied, pulling the wine bottle from her lap, unscrewing the top, and taking a swig. 

“Hell yeah! Nice catch, Danvers,” Charlie laughed, reaching over the table to clink her cup against Lena’s bottle.

Lena grabbed for a card from the middle of the table and around they went, performing whatever action the card called for before sliding it into the pile growing under the tab of the center beer can. Lena felt the wine settle nicely into her system. 

“Ten of diamonds!” Brainy announced, holding his card for the group to see. “I believe this means that I am to select a category.”

“Yes, Brainy,” Nia whispered, squeezing his knee under the table.

“Ah yes, a category,” he cleared his throat. “Names of fictional spacecraft: Serenity!”

“The fuck,” Leslie muttered. “... Millenium Falcon.”

“USS Enterprise,” Charlie yelled. 

Zari shrugged. “I was out after Millenium Falcon,” she said, already taking a pull from her drink. 

“Dude, how?!” Kara exclaimed. “There’s so many! USS Voyager! Colonial Viper! Eagle 5! …” she trailed off at the amused look on Lena’s face. “What?” she asked sheepishly. “I know things.”

“I can see that,” Lena said over the lip of her bottle. 

Leslie pulled a seven and everyone’s hands shot into the air, Lena last, as her focus was still caught on Kara.

“Fours for the _ ladies,” _Charlie called out, raising her glass for the rest of the table, barring Brainy, to clink.

Zari turned another four and they repeated the ritual, Lena’s head starting to spin.

“Ok, I’m up,” Kara said. She flipped her card. “Two is you,” she sang, patting Lena on the thigh. As she wiggled the card under the tab, Lena grabbed for a new one.

“Fine, then... but you’re my date, so drink,” she added turning the card in her hand to show Kara her eight. 

“Gladly,” Kara winked, bringing a can to her lips gratuitously and maintaining eye contact as she sipped. 

“When they’re done eye fucking, feel free to go Nia,” Leslie sniggered.

Nia snorted into her drink, shooting Kara an apologetic look, and picked a card. “Five. Drive?”

“Nah, nah, nah,” Charlie slurred, waving her plastic cup around. “We’ve got new blood. Never Have I Ever. Yeah, Lena?”

Lena narrowed her eyes, smiling, inclining her head. “Three fingers?” 

“Atta girl!” Charlie laughed. 

“Okay,” Nia cut in. “Never have I ever… gone streaking.” Half of the table took a pull.

Brainy was next. “Never have I ever gotten a tattoo.” The rest of the table drank, including Lena. 

Kara turned to her, taken aback. “You do not have a tattoo. Where?”

“Nowhere you would have seen,” Lena teased, noting the way Kara’s eyes darkened momentarily. The blonde opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out, instead taking another drink. 

Leslie watched them, narrowing her eyes and sitting back in her chair with a sneer, drawing Kara’s attention. “... Never have I ever... slept with a teammate.”

“Ayeee, I’m out!” Charlie cheered, fist bumping Zari as they both took a drink. 

Lena trained her face into a neutral expression as she watched Kara slowly raise her glass, jaw tight and nostrils flared. 

“Hey, easy there, Danvers. It’s just a game,” Leslie shrugged.

“Just a game,” Kara repeated, forcing a smile.

Moments later, Sara bounded up to the table, slapping her palms on the surface. “We need a game! Any takers? Danvers…?”

“Yeah,” Kara blinked, looking up at her. “Yep! I think we were about finished here anyways. Lena, be my partner?” she asked hopefully. 

“Of course,” she said, following Kara from the table. She took a few steps and wobbled.

Kara caught her at the waist, searching her eyes. “Whoa, hey, you good?”

“Peachy!” She blinked, smiling goofily at the warmth of Kara’s hands bleeding through her shirt. She closed her eyes and swayed a little with the music. Maybe the wine was a little much. “Mmm yeah ‘m fine,” she chuckled.

“Okay,” Kara chuckled. She squeezed her fingers at Lena’s sides. “Let me get you some water and I’ll meet you at the table?”

“Sounds good,” Lena smiled. 

“Aye, Lena!” Sara called out to her from across the room. Lena ambled over to her, leaning against the table. Sara smirked at her, pulling the cups back into a triangle formation. “Having fun?”

“I am,” she grinned, watching Kara move around the kitchen. 

“Good! You have Kara showing off, I see. She never offers to get _ me _a drink.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” the tall blonde appeared, beers in hand, passing one to Sara. 

“Yeah, you’re good for a thing or two,” Sara laughed, tilting her head up to kiss the girl. “Mmm, Lena, this is Ava.”

“The girlfriend,” Ava clarified, shaking Lena’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Sara is playing nice?”

“I’m always nice,” Sara protested. 

Kara sidled up to Lena, handing her a cup of water. “Leave Lena alone, Sara.”

“I’m being nice!!” Sara laughed. 

“Of course you are, babe.” Ava soothed. “You guys ready to play?”

“Yeah, one sec,” Lena said as she downed the water in one go. “Ok, ready.”

Sara and Ava got into position at the other end of the table as Lena took her place next to Kara on the near side. “House rules,” Sara instructed. “No death cup, fair game on fingering and blows, call your islands and heating up.” Lena nodded in acknowledgement.

Kara leant into her ear. “Fair warning, we can get a little... competitive. Don’t worry, I got you covered,” she said, drying off the ball from a water cup.

Lena quirked a brow. “Oh you got me?” She plucked the ball out of Kara’s hands, bumping her to the side with her hip and boxing her out. She addressed Sara. “Eye to eye?”

The two stared each other down, smirking, and shot: Lena’s ball dropping into the front cup while Sara’s bounced into the group dancing nearby. Lena turned back to Kara looking smug. “Just try to keep up, _ Danvers.” _

Kara’s smile stretched wide. “Yes ma’am,” she saluted, going to chase after the ball. 

The pairs traded blows with mixed success, though Lena and Kara had earned a safe lead. Well, Lena has at least.

“Kara, sweetie, I’m going to need you to at least hit _ one _ cup,” Lena teased leaning back into her chest as she shot, sinking another cup. 

Kara kept her there, grabbing Lena’s waist with her left hand and shooting around her shoulder with the right. Another miss. She looked down at Lena, pouting.

“Something got you a little flustered over there, Danvers?” Sara taunted as her ball bounced into a front cup. 

Kara ignored her, taking a drink and sliding two cups out. “I swear I’m not usually this bad. Honestly.” She got a glint in her eye. “Maybe I just need a little extra motivation?”

“Is that right?” Lena lilted. “And what might that be?” 

She swore she saw Kara’s eyes flash to her lips. Or maybe it was the alcohol playing tricks… “I sink these last three cups and you have to dance with me,” Kara said seriously, holding her hand out.

Lena grabbed it, holding there an extra second or two. “You drive a hard bargain. Deal.”

“Rate of play!” Ava yelled at them.

Kara looked at Lena, waiting. Lena shrugged back, waving her hand in front of her. “After you.”

The corner of her mouth turned up and she winked at Lena, easily sinking the back cup.

Lena mock gasped. She squared up and dropped the ball into a different cup. “Balls back.” She turned to Kara and pouted her lip out. “Aw looks like I beat you to it, stud.”

“Pft, that doesn’t count. I get redemption. Everybody knows that,” Kara scoffed. She held out her ball to Lena, looking expectant. “For luck?”

Lena rolled her eyes, but leaned in to kiss the ball anyways, leaving a bit of color behind. 

Kara grinned. “Game.” She sent the ball flying and sure enough, it hit its mark. 

Lena laughed as Kara finger gunned and “holstered” the pistols at her sides and then hugged her jumping up and down. “Did I get just get hustled?” she yelled over the rabble.

“I would _ never _,” Kara spoke into her hair, pulling back to make a show of closing her eyes, pursing lips, and shaking her head. 

They stayed on the table for two more games, Kara playing suspiciously better now, in which time Lena’s buzz had taken a turn for the drunker. Kara seemed to be right there with her from the way that she found more and more reasons to touch, or hug, or play with Lena’s hair. After their third straight win, Kara pulled her into the group grinding and spinning each other around in the center of the living room, with a _ You promised! _

Lena pretended to be put out by the whole thing, but the truth was that she was feeling it. Kara grabbed both of her hands, swinging their arms with the music, a goofy grin across her face the whole time. Lena rolled her eyes and began moving along. Kara brought one of her hands up, still clasped, and draped Lena’s arm over her shoulder, moving in close. Like, super close. Heat crept throughout Lena at the contact, ducking her head and smiling. 

The music seemed to have increased in both volume and tempo the longer they danced. They moved together song after song, Lena turning to back into her, Kara holding her flush. Lena snatching Kara’s hat from her head and letting it hang loosely over her own. Kara dancing like a clown, yelling along to any lyrics she knew. Lena shamelessly peering up at her through long lashes or making a show off running her hands through sweat-tangled hair, craning her neck back. 

How long they stayed there, Lena couldn’t tell, but by the time they stopped, her thighs were screaming and she was drenched. She exhaled loudly, miming for a drink. Kara followed her into the kitchen where it was only marginally quieter. 

“Whew, how ya feeling?” Kara slurred.

“Ti_ p _ ...to _ p _,” Lena popped. 

“You’re drunk,” Kara chuckled.

“M’ drunk,” Lena agreed, nodding enthusiastically. “Time is it?”

“Umm almost 2? You still good?”

“Yep,” she grinned, leaning against the counter. 

Kara pulled a used cup at random from the counter and scooped ice out of the bag slowly melting in the sink, glugging vodka into it with a splash of Sprite. 

Lena scrunched her nose up at her. “You’re not gonna drink outta that.”

“S’ fine!” Kara laughed. At Lena’s continued look of disgust, she relented, pulling a clean cup from the bad and dumping the contents in. “Happy, princess?”

“I am, as a matter of fact,” Lena chuckled, taking a sip from Kara’s cup before making her own. “Ugh, I’m disgusting,” she pouted, airing out her tank. 

“You want to get some air?” Kara jerked her head towards the back door.

“_Fuck _, yes please.” 

They stepped out onto the back patio, illuminated by soft white strung bulbs. Mismatched furniture covered the area. Someone had lit a fire in the pit sometime during the night and Lena briefly wondered how much she trusted this group drunk around open flames. A few couples were staggered smoking or just leaning against the rail in conversation. 

“Yikes, overcorrection,” Lena shivered as the sweat beading down her arms was hit with the November chill. “C’mon, let’s go sit by the fire,” she grabbed Kara’s hand, pulling her to a loveseat near the flames. She plopped down, propping her feet up onto the rim of the pit and shivered again. 

“You cold?” She rubbed her hands up and down Lena’s arms before her eyes lit up. “Here, wait here! Real fast!” Kara ducked back into the house. Lena watched through large windows as she wove through the dwindling crowd and sprinted up the staircase two steps at a time, returning moments later. She tossed an oversized gray hoodie into Lena’s hands. 

Lena grinned lazily, exhaustion finally catching up with her. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head and snuggled into it, wrapped in a scent distinctly Kara. “Two trademark Kara Danvers originals in one day. People will start to talk,” she teased. 

“Hey, I’m a gentlewoman. I couldn’t let my date freeze to death on my watch.” Her eyes bulged. “Not my date! Well the cards. From the cards. My date from the cards. In the card game. And cause of Jack. _ Where is he by the way? _ He would be your date. And I can’t be. I’m just Kara. Your _ pretend _ date.”

“You done?” Lena said, biting her lip, her brows threatening to merge with her hairline. 

“Yes,” Kara pouted, slouching into Lena’s side. 

“Jack’s not here… um… he’s not here because we sorta… broke up,” she mumbled.

Kara’s jaw fell, she rubbed at her eyes, staring into Lena. “... What did you just say?” she whispered. 

“We broke up,” Lena quivered, eye watering.

“Oh _ Lena _,” Kara sighed, sitting up to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her back into her chest. She ran her free hand up and down Lena’s bicep, soothing her. “Are you okay?”

Lena nodded, not trusting herself to speak. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Lena shook her head. They sat together, silently watching the flames. Slowly, the patio cleared. Kara held her firm, ghosting a kiss to the back of her head and resting her head against her, careful not to bump her still-tender nose. 

After a time, Kara whispered into her hair. “I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up.”

Lena chuckled, hiccuping. “What?”

“I wanted to be an astronaut. I loved space as a kid. My dream was to go there one day. My dad used to take me camping where we could actually see the stars and taught me to find the constellations. I had those glowy stars all over my room.” She laughed softly. “I must have made him rent every space movie at our Blockbuster, even the scary ones, but he never complained. It was our thing_ .” _

“That sounds nice,” Lena whispered. “Is that not what you want anymore? You could do it, you know.”

“No,” Kara sighed. “After my parents died, I stopped. It made me miss them too much, I guess.”

“I’m sorry, Kara.” Lena murmured, nuzzling back into her. “Wait, your parents? Aren’t you going to your mom’s next week for Thanksgiving?”

“Oh, um, yeah. The Danvers are my adopted family. They took me in when I was around 13. You should’ve seen me and Alex back then.”

“Kara, I’m so sorry,” she lamented. She reached for Kara’s hand, taking it in her own. She began gently fiddling with her fingers, fixated. “I’m adopted too.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. When I was four. I don’t remember much before becoming a Luthor. Just glimpses. Little things. Some I don’t know if they are actual memories anymore, or just my imagination.”

“What kinds of things?”

Lena yawned. “Um, singing in the kitchen. Putting the baubles on the Christmas tree. I think I used to put all of them in the same spot two feet off the ground. It made the rest of the tree all funny, but I think she let me,” Lena finished dreamily.

“I bet you were too cute for her to say no to,” Kara mused. 

“You’re one to talk.”

“M’ not cute,” Kara mumbled. 

“Mmm,” Lena hummed. 

“What ‘bout your family now? You don’t talk about them much.”

“Not much to tell. Not the best memories.” She twiddled with a ring on Kara’s thumb, exhaling. “They were glad to be rid of me, I think.”

“Rid of you? What d’you mean?”

Lena shifted to look at Kara, giving her a sad smile. “They caught me with a girl from school when I was 15. They said it would damage the “Luthor image”, so they shipped me off to boarding school. All girls.” She scoffed, raising a brow. “One day, maybe I’ll understand the logic there. Maybe Lillian had a heart after all...”

“Oh… so you’re… oh. You never said anything.”

“Didn’t have a reason to before, I s’pose.”

“And now you do?” Kara asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Lena ducked her head and slowly, hesitantly laid a hand on Kara’s knee, kneading lightly. “I dunno yet,” she whispered, looking up at her, mere inches away. 

Kara reached up, brushing the hair back from where it covered her face and tucked it behind an ear. She cupped Lena’s jaw and ran her thumb across her cheek, searching her eyes. Lena leaned into the contact. 

Kara sighed. “C’mere.” She pulled Lena’s head into her, lying them back on the small sofa. 

Lena stayed there, her head resting against Kara’s stomach gripping into her sides, just watching the flames die down. 

_______________

Something below her shifted, but she kept her eyes firmly closed. A breeze cut through her and she shivered, burrowing further into the body, she realized, that she was cushioned on.

_ Come on, baby _ the voice whispered. _ It’s freezing out here, we gotta get inside. _

Lena was not having it. She wanted that voice to just go away, cold be damned. She groaned as she was lifted, first into a slumped sitting position, and then off the sofa, strong arms under her knees and back. She curled into the body, and was once more gone to the world. 

_______________

The next time she woke, it was to a pounding headache and bright lights. She was cocooned in a thick blanket that was not hers in a bed that was not hers. She squinted her eyes, taking in the unfamiliar room and remembering where she was. This must be Kara’s room. 

She peered over at the space in bed next to her, but found it empty. She rolled back over and tried to go back to sleep, but no luck. Why the fuck was it so bright in here? Didn’t Kara know what a black-out curtain was?

The door squeaked open and Lena turned over to see a sweatpant-clad Kara tip-toeing in with two mugs in her hands.

“Hey,” she whispered. “How are you feeling?”

“Better if there’s coffee for me in there,” she croaked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She leaned up onto her elbow and gratefully accepted the mug from Kara. “I don’t remember coming up here last night.”

Kara rubbed at the back of her neck, dropping onto the bed beside Lena and laying down. “Um, yeah, we fell asleep outside. I carried you up around 4 this morning.” 

“You _ carried _ me?”

“Ye-ah, I’m pretty strong, you know.” 

“Mmm, God, I must’ve really been out of it.” Lena blinked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Must’ve,” Kara looked around uncertainly. “You, um, you remember everything from last night?”

“Yeah? I think so?” Lena scrunched her face, trying to piece together the timeline. “Wait, I didn’t do anything stupid, did I?”

“What? No,” Kara shook her off. “You just, you kind of said some things. Well not really said, but then the rest of the night... but then that could have just been because you were drunk... or upset about Jack… I just thought… I don’t know what I thought.”

She was so cute. Oblivious, but cute. Lena decided to take pity on her. “You just thought… maybe I was flirting with you?”

Kara blushed, burying her face into the pillow and muffling. “Yeah... maybe. Unclear.” 

Lena sat up properly and set her mug on the side table. She swiped Kara’s hair behind her ear and pulled her face out of the pillow so they were looking at each other. Lena worried her lip, her heart beating out of chest, and, fuck it, leaned down to press her lips softly to Kara’s, lingering. When she pulled away, Kara’s eyes were still closed. 

“A little clearer,” she hummed, smiling. 

Lena rolled her eyes and leant back down, this time using one elbow to support herself and the other to grasp around Kara’s ear. She swept the hair that had fallen into her face over her left shoulder and drew Kara in, opening her mouth just enough to lick at her lips, letting Kara adjust before dipping in. When Lena pulled away this time, Kara looked blissed out.

She stared into Lena’s face, darting between her eyes and lips. “Mmmm morning breath.”

Lena laughed, pulling the pillow out from her and smothering Kara’s face with it. 

Kara bucked her hips up, sending Lena flying and rolled them, pinning Lena’s hands around her ears, hovering over her. “Aggressive,” she laughed. 

“Look who’s talking,” Lena shot back, looking up at her hands. 

“You started it.”

“How about this?” Lena tutted. “If you get off of me _ and _let me take a shower, I’ll take you to breakfast. Any place you’d like.”

Kara’s eyes lit up and she jumped off of Lena to sit back on the bed, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap in earnest. “Towels are in the closet!”

Lena shook her head at her. She grudgingly pulled herself out of the warmth of the bed and stopped short at the door. “How obnoxious are your friends going to be about me staying the night?”

“Super.”

_ “Super.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now *keess*
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
tumblr @bdelizabeth


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all, i get it now. writing intimate scenes is stressful.

“Quit playing with my fat,” Lena groaned playfully, covering her face with her hands. Kara laid pressed to her back, head propped on a hand and an arm slung over while she absentmindedly drew patterns underneath her sweater.

“Mmm hush, you’re beautiful,” Kara murmured, pressing a kiss to the skin behind her ear and continuing her administrations. Lena fluttered at the praise, but slid her hand over the back of Kara’s, intertwining their fingers to stop her anyhow. She brought their hands up to her lips and let them rest against her chest. 

“You have to say that.”

“I definitely do not have to say that,” Kara protested. She softened. “But I’m happy that I can finally be honest about it.”

And Lena was too. Having their feelings in the open had been a relief, even in the short time following the weekend. Kara didn’t seem to be in any rush to qualify whatever they were becoming and Lena was grateful for it. This was new territory for the both of them. They were still feeling each other out. Despite her feelings, Lena wasn’t eager, or ready for that matter, to jump back into a relationship. For now, she was content with quiet evenings together cuddled in front of a movie — casual touches, soft words, stolen kisses. 

Lena turned around to face Kara, their noses brushing. Lena’s parted lips hovered centimeters from Kara’s. She stared down at them, holding the distance in a charged moment. “Me too… and that I can do this,” she breathed, closing the distance. 

“Yeah, that part is pretty cool too,” Kara grinned against her. 

Lena hummed, fingers drumming into Kara’s sides. “How long until your flight?”

“Alex is coming to pick me up in an… hour-ish?”

“Plenty of time,” Lena smiled.

“Oh yeah?” Kara arched a brow, hooking a thumb into the waistband of Lena’s jeans, pulling her impossibly closer, legs intertwining. “Whatcha thinking_ ?” _

“Nothing in particular.” She propped herself up, her palm landing on Kara’s shoulder and coaxing her down into the pillows. Lena pulled her leg free and swung it over her hips, leaving her body at an awkward angle. She dipped down, taking her time trailing up the column of Kara’s neck, pressing her lips slowly, languidly into her, the blonde craning to give her more access. 

Kara shifted below her, pulling Lena by the belt loop to straddle her properly. 

“Good, me neither,” Kara grinned. She kept a hand planted at Lena’s waist as the other wove into the hair at the back of Lena’s head, gently guiding her away from her neck.

Their lips met slow and hot, each of them content at the almost sleepy pace. Lena let her hand roam the length of Kara’s neck and torso, flexing her fingers every so often, delighting in the way Kara’s muscles shifted at the touch.

Lena knelt over her so that her hips hovered just above Kara’s. She swiped her tongue across Kara’s bottom lip, making her intention clear, before licking into her, flicking her tongue against Kara’s lip as she pulled away. 

Kara craned her neck up to chase her lips, but Lena was too quick, pushing her back down, leaving her fingers splayed across the hot skin on Kara’s stomach. Lena dipped back to her neck, laying a series of long, open-mouthed kisses there, patiently working the blonde up.

Lena felt Kara squirm below her, hips bucking up, but missing their mark as Lena arched her hips up, keeping their distance. 

“_Lena,” _she groaned.

“_Hmm?” _ Lena hummed innocently.

“_You’re teasin’,” _ Kara gasped into her ear.

Lena smirked, returning to her favorite spot at Kara’s pulse point, sucking hard and grinding down into her, satisfied at the relief in Kara’s exhale. Kara’s hands flew to grip her ass, pulling her down in a desperate need for friction. 

The mood shifted. Kara raked the pads of her fingers across the skin at Lena’s back, reconnecting their lips with a bit more urgency this time. Their movements became sloppy and disconnected as Kara fumbled getting the fabric over Lena’s head. 

Giving in to her, Lena pulled up, sitting back onto Kara’s lap as she made a show of peeling off the sweater and tossing it to the floor. She shook out her hair, pulling it back over one shoulder in a twisting motion.

Lena smirked down at her, but Kara wasn’t focused on that. Her eyes darkened at the sight of Lena’s chest heaving against lace cups. She slid her hands up and around, dragging Lena back to her, teeth clashing as Lena hastily thumbed at the button of Kara’s jeans. 

“_Fuck_,” Lena hissed against her lips. “_The one time you don’t wear those goddamn sweatpants _.”

“_Thought you liked a challenge _,” Kara mumbled, recapturing her bottom lip and biting. 

“_Fuck you, _” Lena laughed, popping the brass button and yanking. 

“_Please -- _”

Three loud knocks rang out. 

The two of them shared a panicked look, Lena jumping off of the couch and throwing her sweater over her head. 

Kara sat up, re-buttoning her jeans. She pulled her mussed hair from its ponytail, raking fingers through it futilly before tying it back up. 

“_Goddamnit _, she’s early,” Kara huffed, looking at the time on her phone.

“Be right there!” Lena called at the door, shooting Kara an apologetic look as she stumbled over to the door. 

“Lena wait!” she hissed as Lena reached for the door. Lena looked back at her to see Kara, eyes wide, motioning to her own lips smeared with Lena’s color. 

Lena swore, rushing over to kneel in front of Kara.

“_Help me,” _ she whispered, rubbing at Kara’s lips and neck as Kara did the same for her. “Hey —Alex -- What does she know about all of --” she gestured between the two of them. “-- _ this _.” 

“Nothing,” Kara whispered, wiping the last bits of evidence from Lena. 

“Ok good.” Lena gave her a nod of approval, both at the reassurance and at Kara’s newly cleaned face. She hopped up and opened the door, slightly breathless, to Alex leaned against the door frame. 

“Took you long enough,” Alex said, but didn’t push the matter any further. She stepped past Lena, dropping into the recliner. “What are you guys up to?”

Lena took the seat opposite of the corner Kara had slid into, giving them as much distance as possible. 

The blonde had her elbow propped on the edge of the couch and brought her neck into her hand, whether consciously or not, hiding any remaining marks there. “Just watching some TV.” 

Lena was grateful to see Kara had thought to switch it on as she’d answered the door, less so when she saw what was on the screen.

Alex furrowed her brows. “NASCAR?”

Lena watched the bright cars racing around the track, reddening. “Uh…”

“Yep!” Kara covered. “Big fan, my secret shame.”

Alex eyed her curiously. “Name one driver in this race.”

Lena cleared her throat. “So, how long are you guys gone for?”

Alex smirked at the deflection. “Our flight gets in Sunday night. Mom wants us to stay through the weekend since she ‘_ doesn’t see us nearly enough. _’”

“She just misses you, I’m sure,” Lena supplied.

“Yeah, yeah I know... The food will be worth it at least.”

“Hell yeah it will!” Kara brightened. “Every year it’s just the three of us, but she makes four times as much food. And the _ pies! _ It’s the best!”

Alex rolled her eyes. “I think she’s hoping for some leftovers one of these years, but no luck with tapeworm over here.”

“I burn a lot of calories, okay.” 

“Sure you do,” Alex chuckled. “What about you, Luthor? Any big plans?”

Lena shook her head. “Nope. Just going to stay here, study a bit, and keep myself company with some of National City’s finest take out.”

“Well that doesn’t sound depressing,” Alex drawled. 

“Yeah! Lena, you can’t spend Thanksgiving all by yourself. It’s practically un-American,” Kara pouted. “You should come home with us! I bet there’s still tickets. And Eliza won’t mind --”

“Kara, it’s fine,” Lena cut in. 

“But --”

Lena silenced her with a look and Kara backed down, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Wha-_ pshhh _,” Alex snorted, earning a glare from Kara. 

“I’m just saying! She could!”

“A few days apart won’t kill you two, I swear.” She turned to Lena. “Seriously though, are you sure?” Alex asked. “I really don’t think Mom would care…”

“Yeah, it’s all good, really. It’s just a few days, like you said,” Lena said waving her off. “You guys should probably be going, though, yeah?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Alex slapped the arm rests with both hands before hopping up. “Okay, later, dude. Have a good break,” she said, giving Lena a high five, moving over to the door and waiting on Kara. 

Kara slowly extracted herself from the couch and looked uncertainly between the two. She flexed her hands at her sides briefly before closing the distance and pulling Lena into a tight hug, holding her there and tucking her face into her neck. “_ Gonna miss you, _” she whispered. 

“_ You too _,” Lena whispered, squeezing her back.

“Jesus, Kara. You’re not going off to war, let’s go,” Alex said rolling her eyes as she waited in the doorway.

Kara stepped away, giving her a scrunchy smile and a soft ‘_ bye _ before following Alex into the hallway, closing the door behind her. 

_______________

** _[Kara 6:36 pm]: _ ** _ stupid Alex _

** _[Kara 6:36 pm]: _ ** _ i didn’t get my kiss goodbye _

** _[Lena 6:44 pm]: _ ** _ How presumptuous of you. _

** _[Kara 6:45 pm]: _ ** _ oh that wasn’t you trying to get in my pants 20 min ago? _

** _[Kara 6:45 pm]: _ ** _ my mistake _

** _[Lena 6:49 pm]: _ ** _ Maybe i’ve come to my senses since then _

** _[Kara 6:51 pm]: _ ** _ Sure, Jan. _

** _[Kara 6:51 pm]: _ ** _ speaking of….. we may be busted... _

** _[Lena 6:53 pm]: _ ** _ ??? _

** _[Kara 6:53 pm]: _ ** _ check your shirt _

Lena looked down to see that her sweater was not only backwards, but also on inside out. Her stomach dropped. So much for a little discretion.

** _[Lena 6:54 pm]: _ ** _ well shit _

** _[Kara 6:57 pm]: _ ** _ yeahhhh _

** _[Kara 6:57 pm]: _ ** _ she’s not going to say anything though, I promise _

** _[Lena 7:02 pm]: _ ** _ Ok, cool. _

** _[Lena 7:03 pm]: _ ** _ Thank you. _

** _[Kara 7:06 pm]: _ ** _ of course :) _

** _[Kara 7:22 pm]: _ ** _ so today was fun _

** _[Kara 7:23 pm]: _ ** _ maybe a little funner if Alex showed up 5 minutes later ;) _

** _[Lena 7:29 pm]: _ ** _ 5 min, huh? You sure know how to treat a lady. _

** _[Kara 7:31 pm]: _ ** _ I do. _

** _[Lena 7:35 pm]: _ ** _ Oh yeah? _

** _[Kara 7:42 pm]: _ ** _ I’d rather show than tell. _

** _[Lena 7:48 pm]: _ ** _ I’ll have to keep that in mind. _

** _[Kara 8:15 pm]: _ ** _ Boarding! Text you when we land. _

Lena held the screen against her chest and grinning to herself like an idiot, embarrassingly giddy. She hadn’t felt like this since high school. Since when did she get butterflies just from a simple text? Something about Kara… she was infectious. 

She dropped into bed, replaying the afternoon over and over again. Every kiss, every little sound, every movement that Kara had made below her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel her still. 

She sighed, internally chiding herself for already missing the blonde. If she couldn’t get her shit together, it was going to be a long weekend. 

_______________

** _[Kara 7:02 am]: _ ** _ Happy Thanksgiving!! _

** _[Lena 8:28 am]: _ ** _ Happy Thanksgiving :) _

Kara replied with a photo of a homey kitchen counter covered in a variety of green beans, sweet potatoes, and cranberries. 

** _[Kara 8:32 am]: _ ** _ !!! _

** _[Lena 8:35 am]: _ ** _ Looks like you have your hands full! I didn’t know you cooked. _

** _[Kara 8:37 am]: _ ** _ Wellll, technically I don’t. _

** _[Kara 8:37 am]: _ ** _ But Eliza always lets me help with the prep as long as I don’t pick too much. _

** _[Lena 8:40 am]: _ ** _ Consider me shocked. _

** _[Kara 8:40 am]: _ ** _ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ _

** _[Lena 8:43 am]: _ ** _ lol _

_______________

A photo popped up of Kara curled into a gray blanket frowning at the camera. 

** _[Kara 2:16 pm]: _ ** _ I don’t feel good :( _

** _[Lena 2:17 pm]: _ ** _ :( bite off more than you could chew? _

** _[Kara 2:17 pm]: _ ** _ maybe :( _

** _[Lena 2:19 pm]: _ ** _ try taking a nap? _

** _[Kara 2:20 pm]: _ ** _ definitely _

** _[Kara 2:20 pm]: _ ** _ just laying on the couch watching the football game now _

** _[Kara 2:21 pm]: _ ** _ waiting for the tryptophan to kick in _

** _[Lena 2:24 pm]: _ ** _ lol it will do that. Having a good day otherwise? _

** _[Kara 2:25 pm]: _ ** _ yep :) after my customary food coma, gonna gear up and go body guard for alex at the black friday sales _

** _[Lena 2:26 pm]: _ ** _ Oh no. _

** _[Lena 2:27 pm]: _ ** _ You’re one of those. _

** _[Kara 2:30 pm]: _ ** _ hell yeah! it’s the only time of year that you can win shopping!! _

** _[Lena 2:36 pm]: _ ** _ That checks out. _

** _[Lena 2:36 pm]: _ ** _ Going for anything in particular? _

** _[Lena 2:52 pm]: _ ** _ Have a good nap:) _

_______________

** _[Lena 10:02 pm]: _ ** _ Getting in bed. Regretting your life decisions yet? _

** _[Kara 10:07 pm]: _ ** _ I meannnnn. Is it cold as balls out here? Yes. _

** _[Kara 10:08 pm]: _ ** _ Have we been waiting in a line of angry Karens for two hours? Yes. _

** _[Kara 10:08 pm]: _ ** _ BUT ARE WE GONNA GET THAT ROOMBA? _

** _[Kara 10:09 pm]: _ ** _ YES. _

** _[Lena 10:09 pm]: _ ** _ You’re ridiculous. _

** _[Kara 10:10 pm]: _ ** _ YES. _

** _[Kara 10:11 pm]: _ ** _ We have 45 min-ish left until they open the doors. Distract me? _

** _[Lena 10:13 pm]: _ ** _ Sure :) ummm what was the best and worst part of your day? _

** _[Kara 10:15 pm]: _ ** _ best part: sweet potato casserole! _

** _[Kara 10:16 pm]: _ ** _ worst part: getting sick on sweet potato casserole :( _

** _[Lena 10:17 pm]: _ ** _ I should have known lol _

** _[Kara 10:19pm]: _ ** _ what about you? Best part worst part _

** _[Lena 10:21 pm]: _ ** _ Best part was going for a run around the city. The weather was perfect and I met a puppy that reminded me of you. _

** _[Kara 10:22 pm]:_ ** _ I’m going to choose to take you comparing me to a dog as a compliment. _

** _[Kara 10:22 pm]:_ ** _ Continue, worst part? _

Lena typed out a _ Missing you _, staring at it, her thumb hovered over the send icon before eventually deleting it. Too soon. 

** _[Lena 10:25 pm]: _ ** _ My mom called :/ _

** _[Kara 10:27 pm]:_ ** _ Ooof, guessing it didn’t go well? _

** _[Lena 10:30 pm]: _ ** _ Eh the usual. Lex this, Lex that. I’m wasting my potential. A few digs about how I couldn’t be bothered to come home. It’d be nice if she’d mix it up every once in a while, you know? _

** _[Kara 10:32 pm]:_ ** _ Lena :( _

** _[Kara 10:32 pm]:_ ** _ i’m sorry... _

** _[Kara 10:33 pm]:_ ** _ she’s a bitch _

** _[Kara 10:33 pm]:_ ** _ and you’re amazing :) _

** _[Kara 10:33 pm]:_ ** _ and super smart _

** _[Kara 10:33 pm]:_ ** _ and super pretty _

** _[Kara 10:34 pm]:_ ** _ and she doesn’t know what she’s talking about _

** _[Lena 10:36 pm]:_ ** _ … can i change my answer to the best part of my day? _

** _[Kara 10:37 pm]:_ ** _ :) _

** _[Kara 10:40 pm]:_ ** _ so tell me more about this pup _

** _[Kara 10:59 pm]:_ ** _ here we goo!!! _

** _[Kara 11:20 pm]:_ ** _ WE GOT THE ROOMBA [photo] _

** _[Kara 11:52 pm]:_ ** _ good night lena :) miss you _

_______________

** _[Kara 9:14 pm]:_ ** _ heyyyy you were quiet today _

** _[Lena 9:32 pm]:_ ** _ hey, yeah sorry, just been a long day _

** _[Kara 9:35 pm]:_ ** _ everything okay? _

** _[Lena 9:39 pm]:_ ** _ Yep. All good. _

** _[Lena 9:41 pm]:_ ** _ Jack came by to grab his stuff. We spent most of the day packing for the movers. Just got back from a late dinner after finishing up. _

** _[Kara 9:47 pm]:_ ** _ Oh _

** _[Kara 9:48 pm]:_ ** _ How did that go? _

** _[Lena 9:51 pm]:_ ** _ It was fine. A little exhausting and its weird seeing the apartment so empty. Just... uncomfortable, you know? _

** _[Kara 9:54 pm]:_ ** _ he didn’t give you a hard time or anything, did he? _

** _[Lena 9:54 pm]:_ ** _ No, nothing like that. We just talked through everything. I think we’re going to try out the whole “stay friends” thing. _

** _[Kara 9:56 pm]:_ ** _ Okay... Just making sure :/ _

** _[Lena 9:57 pm]:_ ** _ Thank you for that :) _

** _[Lena 10:04 pm]:_ ** _ You okay? _

** _[Kara 10:13 pm]:_ ** _ Yep _

**[Outgoing Call: Kara Danvers 10:14 pm]**

“_Hi,” _Kara breathed.

“Hey... it’s good to hear your voice.”

“_Yours too...” _

Lena’s chest clenched at the sadness in her voice, hating being the cause of it.

“Kara… It’s over. We just got together to wrap things up and take care of the logistics. There’s nothing there anymore, I promise. You don’t have to worry.”

“_I know,” _ she sighed. “ _ I know, and I know it’s not even my place to feel like this… and I guess… I don’t know. It’s stupid _ . _ I’m being stupid._”

“Hey, no. It’s not stupid. You’re my best friend, Kara. You shouldn’t ever have to feel like you have to apologize for your feelings. I want to know that stuff so that I know how to make it better. Talk to me… please.”

The line paused.

“_I just… I know that maybe I put you in a weird position in all of this, and... I’ve been feeling guilty about that. And then I heard you were with Jack, and I guess I got a little scared that maybe you changed your mind. And I don’t know if this is just a rebound for you, or just a friends-with-benefits type thing, but I... I really like you, Lena _.” 

Lena broke into a grin, hand covering her mouth. 

“_And… you’re not saying anything. Cool… cool cool cool _ . _ Just for— _”

“Kara.”

_ “Yeah?” _

“I really like you, too,” she whispered. 

“..._ Yeah? _” she asked, almost as if she didn’t believe her. Almost as if she hadn’t consumed Lena from the day that they met. 

“Yes, loser.” Lena paced around the apartment, too excited to sit still. _ How could I not? You make me laugh. You’re always there for me when I need you, but still call me on my shit when I’m being too much. You’re tough, but so, so kind-hearted. You’re nerdy in the most adorable way. And besides...You’re _ really _ fucking hot. “ _Without a doubt.”

“_Okie doke… Without a doubt, huh? _” she asked with a lilt, her normal confidence returning. 

“Wow, that didn’t take long. I mean, it’s mostly just for your shoulders, so don’t get too cocky.” 

“_Too late. I’m cutting the sleeves off of all of my clothes as we speak. _”

“I thought you’d already done that?”

“_ ... Fair point. Just trying to play to my strengths.” _

“In that case, go ahead and cut the torsos off of everything as well.”

_ “Wowww, I’m starting to think I’m just a piece of meat to you... You’re going to give me a complex.” _

“Oh, _ please _.” Lena scoffed. “Like you haven’t been showing off since that day in the gym.”

“_ ...Maybe. But you already admitted it’s working for you so... _”

“Mmm, that it is… Speeeaking of, are you home yet?”

_ “Haha, almost. One more day. Too long, in my opinion.” _

“Tell me about it.”

_ “I can come see you when I get back? Maybe pick up where we left off?” _

Lena grinned into the phone, glad Kara couldn’t see her. “Yeah, I think I’d really like that,” she breathed.

_ “What are you doing right now? _”

“Just got in bed.”

“_Realllly, _” she drew out. 

_______________

** _[Kara 6:13 am]: _ ** _ morning beautiful :) _

** _[Lena 10:36 am]: _ ** _ good morning :) _

** _[Lena 10:36 am]: _ ** _ do you sleep ever? _

** _[Kara 10:40 am]: _ ** _ sometimes! _

** _[Lena 10:42 am]: _ ** _ well some of us actually need to _

** _[Kara 10:43 am]: _ ** _ aww something keep you up late? _

** _[Lena 10:47 am]: _ ** _ nothing exciting _

** _[Kara 10:47 am]: _ ** _ oof _

** _[Kara 10:47 am]: _ ** _ that hurts _

** _[Kara 10:47 am]: _ ** _ and to think I was excited to see you today _

** _[Kara 10:47 am]: _ ** _ really rethinking things now _

** _[Lena 10:50 am]: _ ** _ Bet. _

_______________

** _[Lena 1:20 pm]: _ ** _ 8 more hours! _

** _[Kara 1:21 pm]: _ ** _ :DDD _

_______________

** _[Kara 3:27 pm]: _ ** _ lenaaaa _

** _[Kara 3:27 pm]: _ ** _ make the clock go faster _

** _[Lena 3:30 pm]: _ ** _ On it _

** _[Kara 3:41 pm]: _ ** _ it didn’t work _

** _[Lena 3:42 pm]: _ ** _ Somebody’s eager. _

** _[Kara 3:44 pm]: _ ** _ Yes. _

** _[Kara 3:44 pm]: _ ** _ 100% _

** _[Lena 3:47 pm]: _ ** _ Me too, love. Hurry up. _

** _[Kara 3:48 pm]: _ ** _ on it! _

_______________

** _[Kara 5:29 pm]: _ ** _ our flight is delayed :(( I don’t know how long it’s going to be _

** _[Lena 5:34 pm]: _ ** _ :/ hopefully not too long… did they say what the issue was? _

** _[Kara 5:36 pm]: _ ** _ nope :( _

_______________

** _[Kara 6:43 pm]: _ ** _ this is bullshit!!! _

** _[Lena 6:45 pm]: _ ** _ i’m sorry sweetie :/ _

** _[Kara 6:45 pm]: _ ** _ i need a hug :( _

** _[Lena 6:47 pm]: _ ** _ Give me a few hours and I can help you out. _

** _[Kara 6:48 pm]: _ ** _ what about a kiss? _

** _[Lena 6:48 pm]: _ ** _ Yeah, I think I can manage that too ;) _

** _[Kara 6:49 pm]: _ ** _ Two kisses? _

** _[Lena 6:49 pm]: _ ** _ Ok, you’re just getting crazy now... _

** _[Kara 6:50 pm]: _ ** _ but lena, i’m sad :(( _

** _[Kara 6:50 pm]: _ ** _ and you know what would really cheer me up? _

** _[Lena 6:57 pm]: _ ** _ [photo] _

** _[Lena 6:57 pm]: _ ** _ Will that work? _

** _[Kara 7:02 pm]: _ ** _ Ikjhdfhbasjdfb _

** _[Kara 7:02 pm]: _ ** _ sdjfnasdfs _

** _[Kara 7:04 pm]: _ ** _ yep that’ll work _

** _[Kara 7:04 pm]: _ ** _ where is this fucking plane _

_______________

** _[Kara 7:40 pm]: _ ** _ Boarding!! _

** _[Lena 7:42 pm]: _ ** _ !! text me when you land _

_______________

** _[Kara 11:41 pm]: _ ** _ landed! _

** _[Kara 11:41 pm]: _ ** _ still awake? _

** _[Lena 11:44 pm]: _ ** _ Very. _

** _[Lena 11:44 pm]: _ ** _ Get here. _

** _[Lena 11:45 pm]: _ ** _ Safely!! _

** _[Kara 11:58 pm]: _ ** _ On my way!!! _

_______________

By the time the knocking sounded at her door, Lena was ready to snap. Kara’s delay had given her far too much time. She’d manicured everything. She’d picked her best pair of matching black lace. She’d slipped on a loose button-up, letting it hang open, to complete the look. A shaky hand pulled at the door.

At the sight of her, Kara’s mouth hung open almost cartoonishly. She stared, saying nothing.

Lena ran a hand through her hair, pulling it over a shoulder and looking uncertain. “Uh… too much?”

“_Fuck no _,” Kara growled, rushing forward and slamming the door behind her. She yanked off her beanie and jacket, crashing into Lena, grabbing her face, and pulling her in. Lena braced herself, grasping desperately at Kara’s hips. 

“_Fuck, I missed you. I -- mnph -- I came straight here -- mm -- from the airport. I probably --ungh -- I probably smell” _she gasped, coming in and out for air. 

“_Don’t care _,” she exhaled. 

Kara wove her hand into Lena’s hair, gripping hard at the base. She backed Lena into the nearest wall, the brunette grunting on impact. Kara pulled back, concern written across her face. “Are you okay?”

“ _ ‘M fine, don’ stop _,” Lena mumbled, bringing their lips back together in a bruising kiss. 

Kara pressed into her, greedy hands roaming at every inch of available skin. 

“_Kara, _” Lena let out in a breathy moan as Kara’s hands found her rear, squeezing firm. 

“_Mm? _” Kara mumbled against her lips. 

“_Bed, _” she groaned.

Kara pulled away once more, searching Lena’s eyes, finding the irises all but gone. “Are you sure?”

Lena nodded, tugging Kara back in by the jaw. Kara fell into her, hands running down the back of exposed thighs and scooping Lena up against the wall. Lena hooked her ankles behind Kara’s back and held onto her neck, pressing her lips to whatever she could reach as Kara carried her. 

“_Fuck, _” Kara hissed, knocking them into the coffee table. 

“_Left _ ,” Lena groaned. “ _ Don’ drop me _.”

Kara’s fingers dug further into her ass, continuing to stumble forward. She threw Lena onto the bed with a _ thump_, Lena’s brow arching at her. 

Lena leaned back on her elbows, shirt falling open, and caressed one foot up the other leg. Kara followed the movement intently. She flashed her teeth, kicking her shoes off across the floor, hands bracketing Lena’s ankles as she crawled onto the bed predatorily. 

Lena caught her hips as she reached her, thumbs hooking into her waistband. “Sweatpants?” she laughed into Kara’s ear. 

“_I learned_,” Kara breathed, grinding onto her, teeth scraping against Lena’s neck. She bit playfully, tongue soothing over the reddening spots. 

“_Off, _” Lena moaned, pushing at the waistband, but unable to extend far enough. Kara lifted herself into a push-up position, putting her weight on one hand, and using the other to drag them down along with her socks, flinging them away.

“_Shirt, _” Lena added, staring up at her. 

“Now’s whose eager?” Kara teased, still holding herself up, dragging a finger down Lena’s stomach. Lena twitched up at the touch, forcing the whine back down her throat. 

Lena pushed her shoulder back, knocking Kara off balance. She took the opportunity to roll over her, straddling her hips. She gripped at Kara’s wrists, holding them above her head. Lena leant in for a rough kiss, rolling her hips into Kara in time. Kara moaned into her mouth, hands pulling against Lena’s grip, but keeping them there. “I don’t see you complaining,” Lena whispered against her.

Kara snorted, her eyes defiant. Lena yelped as Kara easily freed herself from Lena’s grip, using her hips to bounce Lena up and flip them back over. She winked down at her, peeling her tee over her head, leaving her in just her boy shorts and a black sports bra. 

Lena palmed down her sides, thumbs splaying over her hard stomach, nails scraping lightly down her back. She tore her eyes away to find that Kara had been watching her amused. 

“Do you trust me?” the blonde murmured, eyes glinting even in the darkness. 

Lena narrowed her eyes at her. “..._ Should _ I?”

“I’ll be good, promise.”

“_Okay _,” Lena nodded. 

The corner of Kara’s mouth upturned. “Hands up here,” she commanded, tapping the bars of the headboard. Lena complied, wrapping her fingers around the curled iron.

Kara latched back onto her neck, taking Lena’s skin into her mouth, trailing lips and tongue down the column of her neck and across her collarbone at an agonizing pace. 

Lena squirmed below her, but kept her hands in place. Sure, Kara hadn’t even properly touched her yet, but she was too fucking worked up for this game.

“_Kara,_” she whined.

The blonde’s only response was to slide further down her body, resting in the space between her legs as she pinned Lena by her waist and kissed down her stomach. She took her time to suck a mark into the skin above her hip bone, dipping down to press her lips against the fabric there. 

Lena hissed. “Kara, _ please.” _

Kara pulled up, laying against her side and spreading her hand over Lena’s stomach. “_ Please what? _” she whispered against her ear, kissing the skin below it. 

“_You know what _,” Lena grumbled, trying in vain to catch her lips. 

“Do I?” she asked innocently, pecking lightly at the corner of Lena’s mouth.

“_Please fucking touch me... Please, Kara. I need you.” _

Kara smiled against her lips, keeping her steady as her hand traveled down and down, slipping below the waistband. She slipped a single finger through her, gasping into her mouth. “_Jesus _ Fuck_, Lena. You’re so wet for me. So good. _” Kara picked up a rhythm, starting to pant into her mouth. Lena canted her hips up, matching her strokes. 

Too soon, Lena’s increasingly erratic writhing pushed her out of the pace. “ ‘m close,” she panted. 

Kara halted, retracting her hand. Lena whined, but let out a breath of relief when Kara shifted back down, laying between her legs. 

Kara fingered at the sides of the material there, gazing up at her. “Can I?”

Lena nodded vigorously, slamming her eyes closed and arching her back, squeezing into the bars to keep her grip. Kara slid the lace away. The cool air from the ceiling fan hitting her center and sending shivers unrelated to the cold throughout every limb.

“You’re so beautiful,” Kara whispered reverently at her. She anchored Lena before swiping the flat of her tongue against her center. 

Lena’s hips jerked involuntarily and she released her hold on the bars, burying them into blonde hair instead. She grabbed two handfuls as Kara began bobbing, alternating between slow strokes and tight circles. She flexed her tongue and dipped in before moving back up to the spot that Lena needed her most. A few well-placed movements and --

“_Fuck, Kara, I’m gonna cum. _”

“_Leggo, bby _” she hummed into her.

With a high-pitched whine, Lena’s entire body seized, thighs trapping Kara there, her tongue still coaxing her through the last spasms, and she collapsed into the sheets. 

Kara wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and climbed back up Lena’s body, tucking her hair behind an ear and pressing lips to her cheek. “_So good _ ,” she whispered. “_So good for me. _”

Lena laid there, letting her breathing even out, eyes still closed. She brought her hand up to Kara’s face and held her, kissing her limply. “Not too bad, yourself,” she mumbled, smiling.

Kara laughed, running her hand down Lena’s side, seemingly unable to stop touching her. “I missed you so much. That’s not weird, right?”

“I think we’re past that point,” Lena grinned, catching her breath.

“Yeah, guess so.”

She propped herself onto an elbow and looked down at Kara, hugging around her middle. “Even so,” Lena punctuated with a peck to her lips. “I missed you too.” 

Kara sunk into the pillows, sighing contentedly as she let Lena trace over her bicep.

“Are you tired?” Lena asked.

“Mmm, nope. Just happy,” she smiled. 

“Good. Me too,” Lena replied, swinging her leg over Kara’s middle. “Let me show you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Lemme know whatcha think.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl, this one got away from me. The closest I've gotten to celebrating Hanukkah is buying my college roommate gifts and leaving them in their room when I went home for winter break, so apologies if I got anything wrong!

“_Faster _!”

“ ‘m... _ trying _,” Kara huffed, her breath labored, arms straining from holding her weight. 

“Come on, almost there!” Lena encouraged. 

“_Fuck _... how much longer?”

“5… 4… 3… 2… and… done.”

Kara collapsed chest first onto the mat, rolling onto her back and holding her head as she caught her breath. 

“Well done,” Lena smiled, tapping a few numbers into her tablet. “You beat last week by 4 reps.”

“Hell yeah!” Kara rocked into a sitting position, holding herself up by the backs of her knees. “But how do you know it’s the juice working and not just me being a badass?”

Lena raised her brow. “You just keep doing what you’re doing and let us handle the science. C’mere, I need to take your vitals.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know the drill,” Kara popped up, following Lena over the table and hopping up. She extended out her wrist, grinning. 

Lena flashed her a smile, stepping into her space and holding the device to her to start the count. As the seconds ticked by, Lena felt a pressure against her leg and looked down to see Kara running her foot along her.

“_Kara _,” Lena warned.

“Hmm?” Kara hummed.

“Eve is _ right _ there,” Lena hushed, swatting Kara’s foot away. 

Kara laughed glancing over at the blonde. “She doesn’t care. Right, Eve?” she asked a little louder.

“Yep! This is definitely not a very small, very quiet room, don’t mind me,” the girl said light-hearted, never looking away from her screen. 

Kara reddened slightly. “Sor-ry, Eve.”

Eve shook her head, laughing to herself and continuing to work. 

“Ok, you’re all set. Give me, two minutes and we can go, ‘kay?” Lena asked, sitting down at her desk.

Kara threw her sweats back on and came over to lean against the desk, scrolling her phone idly as she waited. 

“Done!” Lena gathered her things, but Kara didn’t seem to hear her as she was typing back enthusiastically to someone. 

Lena nudged her side. “All set,” she repeated, nodding her head towards the door for Kara to follow her. “Later, Eve!” they both called after her.

Once in the hallway, Lena slid her hand into Kara’s as they walked, swinging them along. “What’s got you distracted, smiley?”

Kara laughed, holding her phone out to Lena, showing her a neck-down photo of a scantily-clad woman in Santa Claus dress. 

Lena smirked, arching her eyebrows in question. “Getting in the holiday spirit?”

“Well, yes. But no, Sara was showing me her outfit for Jingle Belle Brawl.”

“Your rugby thing? You don’t just wear… I don’t know… uniforms?” Lena asked, hitting the elevator button.

“This is just a social one,” Kara explained, stepping into the lift. “We’re just going to play 7’s within the club as a end-of-semester/holiday funsies thing. We all dress up in theme for the game and play short quarters and drink. It’s gonna be dope!”

The doors closed and Lena stepped in front of Kara, pressing her back into the wall. She hovered around her lips and murmured, “So, will I be treated to you in something similar?” She pressed her lips to her. “...Or just have to spend the match checking Sara out.”

Kara glared, pushing playfully at her hips as the door dinged open. “Don’t encourage her… And, _ no, _ I wasn’t planning on it. But now that I know you have a Santa kink, I might have to re-think some things.”

“Can’t wait,” Lena deadpanned, rejoining their hands.

“You’re not denying it, then,” Kara smirked. “Well it goes against my people, but these are the things I do for lo-- friends.”

Lena ducked her head, grinning into her chest. They stepped into the night air, the breeze cutting through their jackets. 

“Fuck, it’s cold,” Lena swore, shivering and pulling her coat tighter around herself. “How are you just wearing that?”

Kara looked down at her hoodie and sweats and shrugged. “I just run hot, I guess. Besides aren’t you from Metropolis? This should be nothing for you.”

“Cold is cold, Kara,” Lena said, releasing Kara to huff hot air against her clasped hands, rubbing them together.

Kara watched her fondly, holding her arm in the air. “Come here,” she said, wrapping her arm around Lena’s shoulders to pull her into her side as they continued walking. She rubbed up and down her bicep a few times before holding her snug.

“Sooo, your _ people _, huh?” Lena asked.

“Yeah, I’m Jewish,” Kara chirped. “Kind of. Not really practicing. Kind of like the Jewish version of a Christmas-and-Easter Christian.”

“Ah, very cool,” Lena mused, internally making a note to google the basics on Jewish holiday customs. She was vaguely aware that there were multiple nights for Hanukkah, but other than that she didn’t know much other than whatever was mentioned in the occasional movie subplot.

“The Luthors are the same way. We were never the church every Sunday family, but we do host this big gala at the, uh, house every year.”

“Ooo sounds fancy!” Kara’s eyes twinkled. 

“Quite… I’m surprised,” she nudged at Kara’s side, plucking at the fabric of her sweatshirt. “I wouldn’t think that would be your style.”

“I can _ be _ fancy!” Kara laughed, huffing indignantly.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Don’t worry, you will eventually,” Kara said, lunging up the stairs to the library doors two steps at a time. She beat Lena by a couple steps, yanking the door open and holding it for her. “After you, m’lady.”

Lena rolled her eyes at her, stepping into the delightfully warm building. Lena surveyed the first floor. On a normal night, the place would have been deserted by now, but with finals in full swing, students were scattered over most tables and computers in varying degrees of grief. “Let’s try up on fifth and see if there’s any spots.”

“Ok. We can always try to find one of those little private study rooms,” Kara intoned, wiggling her brows at Lena. 

Lena gave her a pointed look. “I need to actually study, Kara.”

Kara’s eyes rolled as she followed to the elevators. “You do not. You know your stuff better than half of your professors.”

“That’s not even true. I just want to do well! No harm in that.”

“Ooookay. Just lots of study breaks then. Besides, kisses help you remember things. Everybody knows that.”

“If you’re going to distract me, I’m going to kick you out of our study date,” Lena warned, not meaning a word of it. 

“Fine, fine, just _ some _ study breaks then.”

Lena smiled, shaking her head. “You’re the worst.”

“You like it.”

“Eh…” Lena stepped off onto the new floor. “Well come on, then. Let’s go see if there’s any rooms free.”

“Yiss,” Kara pumped her fist low and followed behind.

_______________

The day of Jingle Belle Brawl arrived and they couldn’t have asked for better weather all things considered. Nice and overcast with southern California wintery fifties. 

Alex had driven them to the fields shortly before kick off, Kara and the team already there for warm-ups. Lena pulled a maroon peacoat tighter around her body as they climbed into the stands. Lena saw Brainy sitting a little ways away with a large man she didn’t recognize, though Alex seemed to. The man waived the women over. 

“Hey!” Alex smiled, fist bumping him and she dropped on the metal behind him. “Lena, this is James and Brainy. Guys, this is Lena.” 

“Hi, Lena,” the larger man greeted. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to finally put a face to the name.”

Lena’s cheeks colored lightly. “All good things, I hope?”

He chuckled, “It’s Kara, so of course.”

“Good to see you again,” Brainy nodded, playing with a tablet in his lap. 

“You too, Brainy. What do you have there?” she asked nodding to the tablet.

“Ah, statistics. I’ve been tracking the team’s progress this season and reporting back my results.”

“The dude is a machine,” James boasted. “He was just giving me the rundown on Lucy’s ranks.”

“Yes, Ms. Lane has been performing exceptionally well. The second highest try scorer with an average of 1.67 per match. Her defense performance is also quite strong at an 84% success rate in open-field tackles.”

“That’s my girl!” James cheered, cupping his mouth and yelling down to a player in a tasteful green sweater and matching stockings down on the field. She turned her head at the noise and broke into a wide grin, giving him a fluttery wave back.

“Yeah, but this is 7’s,” Alex cut in. “I’ll take Kara for the lead on the day.”

“Not a chance. Want to make it interesting?” James inclined, holding his hand out. “Bottle of Crown to the winner. Most tries, assists don’t count.”

Alex looked down to see Kara with a festive hat and full white bear strapped around her chin goofing around with her team in a onesie made to look like a Santa suit, the footies over her cleats and everything. Lena smirked when she saw that Kara had modified the fleece suit to be sleeveless. 

“_Jesus _ Christ_, what the fuck is she wearing _?” Alex muttered, looking doubtful. “Ugh, fine, deal.” She shook his hand. 

“This’ll be fun,” James smiled, watching the players move around. 

Lena surveyed the field, now familiar with the team from hanging around Kara’s place with growing frequency. The players had split the club down the middle, Kara, Sara, Leslie, Nora, Kendra, Psy, and Siobhan in a mix of red sweaters and Santa outfits with matching socks or hats. Sara had followed through on her dress, visibly fighting the chill and shaking every so often. 

On the other side, the players were in a variety of greens, Zari and Charlie in matching elf costumes complete with pointy-earred hats, Ava in a tinsely sweater with colored puff balls to resemble a tree. Nia had chosen a plain forest sweater, but contoured her make-up to look like a reindeer with an antler headband to match. Imra and Gideon had opted for much more practical looks with athletic apparel in the appropriate colors. 

The match started off much the same as Lena’s first game, but she quickly noticed the change in play. The players were spread much further over the field and the ball moved faster. Long passes out to the wings mixed with short offloads popped into the hands of trailing players as the women ran into contact. 

The inter-club match turned goofier the longer play went on. The sight of the girls in their festive gear was ludicrous to start with, but the hats added an extra element as the players carried the ball loosely in one hand, keeping the other pinned to their hats as they ran. 

Kara caught the ball, floated up to her from Nora on the ground, and broke away, shaking Nia off of her legs in the process. Her footies flopped wildly as she high-stepped into the tryzone and placed the ball down for the first score of the match. She celebrated by patting her belly and leaning back to ho ho, her chest heaving. 

“_Fuck yeah, _” Alex hissed. “Suck it, James.” She clinked her whiskey-filled flask against Lena’s and took a swing. 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s early,” he waved her off.

The referee blew his whistle for the end of the first quarter and the players jogged off the pitch. Charlie pulled a large pitcher out of a cooler and began filling lines of red cups along a table. The players lined up on opposite sides of the table and were chatting animatedly with each other. 

“Is that… egg nog?” Lena asked scrunching her face. 

“It’s tradition,” James laughed. 

“Oh sick,” Lena mimed barfing. “And they’re going to play after this?”

“Sure are,” Alex smiled. “James, shot bet on red.”

“Done.”

The girls on the field began chanting in unison. “_ Flip cup. Flip cup. Let’s get fucked up!” _ And down the line they went, knocking the egg nog back and fighting the breeze to up-end their cups onto the edge of the table. Kara and Sara gave the red team an early lead with single successful attempts each, but when Siobhan struggled with her own, the green team caught them, Charlie slamming the table with her palms and cheering as her final cup landed. 

“Drink up, buddy,” James smirked, tipping the bottom of Alex’s flask up as she sipped.

She wiped at the corner of her mouth, shuddering. “Like butter.”

Lena shook her head at her, grinning. The match resumed. Kara continued to be a force, but Lucy proved to be a worthy competitor in the battle unbeknownst to them. The group of friends in the stands heckled and joked together, enjoying the afternoon. 

In the end, Kara came out victorious 3 to 2, Lucy giving up the tying try to let Nia take it in. The players lined up to slap hands after the match, but instead hugged each other in turn, the red team jumping in a circle to celebrate their win. 

The group walked down to the fields for the post-game celebrations. Alex pulled Kara into a hug, kissing her cheek roughly, catching a mouth full of the white curls there. 

“What was that for?” Kara laughed. Up close, Lena could see she’d even used brown eyeliner to give herself an aged look.

“You just won me a bottle off James!” Alex grinned, plucking a hair from between her lips.

He had his arm around Lucy nearby. “It should have been a tie! Lucy is just too nice for my own good.”

“What’s this now?” Lucy asked, looking up at him.

“These two were betting on us, from the sounds of it.” Kara explained. 

“Shocking,” Lucy said rolling her eyes. “Sorry, babe,” she apologized, curling into him and kissing his chest.

Kara watched them, her smile giving her a squinty look. She glanced over at Lena. “Hey, you. Thanks for coming.” She slid her arm around Lena’s middle in a one-armed hug. 

Lena leaned her head against Kara momentarily before Kara pulled away. “You know, I hate to admit it, but I’m really starting to enjoy these things.”

“Oh _ yeah _ ?” Kara asked, craning her head to the side. “I mean… I don’t _ want _ to say ‘I told you so’, but --”

“--Then don’t,” Lena smirked, pulling down on the fake beard and letting it pop back against the blonde’s face. 

Kara winked in response. She turned to the rest of the group, Nia and Brainy and Sara and Ava having joined them. “So you guys all coming to the social, yeah?”

“Yeah, we’ll be there.” Most of the group dispersed, taking off cleats and packing the fields away.

“I have to pass,” Alex declined. “Still need to do laundry and get packed for tomorrow.”

“Oookay. Lena? You in? You want a ride?”

Alex and Lena exchanged a look and Alex nodded.

“Um, yeah. I need to grab some stuff out of Alex’s car and then I’ll meet you in the lot?”

“Sounds good, see you in a minute.” Kara briefly grasped at her fingers before following the others. 

_______________

The social was held at the same patio bar that Lena had seen in so many of Kara’s snaps and stories. The mixed group relaxed around the tables pushed together and drank free beer from a keg, all the while taking down an impressively high stack of pizzas. The event doubled as their Christmas party, the team going around in a circle of White Elephant, most gifts consisting of liquor bottles, As Seen on TV gadgets, and the occasional sex toy.

Kara came away with a Shake Weight, jiggling it in front of Lena with a goofy smile on her face. _ It’s for fitness, Lena. _

As the evening wound down, the group thinned until it was just Kara, Sara, Ava, and Lena left to deal with the mess. 

“_Why _ do we always get stuck on clean up duty,” Sara groaned. 

Ava sighed, crumpling a wad of gift wrap and tucking it into a plastic bag, “Because we’re the captains and have to be the responsible ones.”

“Exactly! We should just be _ responsible _ and make the freshmen do it. You know, like _ we _had to.” Sara argued, stacking sticky cups into a pile and taking them over to Ava. 

“It’s not that bad,” she reasoned, giving Sara a tender kiss when she leaned in to throw away the cups.

“Guess you’ll just have to make it up to me,” Sara muttered, smiling into her.

Kara rolled her eyes at the pair, carrying four folding chairs to Lena’s two over to the stack. 

“Easy there, tiger.” Lena quipped, setting her chairs down.

Kara heaved the last of the pile to the ground, shrugging. “Just making it go faster. Ready to go relax with you before I need to leave. I still need to pack too, now that I’m thinking of it.”

“You guys can head out?” Ava suggested, overhearing them. “We got this, right, Sara?”

Sara looked like she was about to argue before Ava shot her a look. “Yep, we got this. You crazy kids get on out of here.”

Kara and Lena looked between the two hesitantly. There really wasn’t _ that _ much more to do. 

“Yeah, yeah, okay. We’ll do that. Thanks, guys. We’ll, uh, see you in January, I guess.” Kara agreed. Her face dropped and she walked over to hug each of them. “Have a good break.”

“Later, Danvers,” Sara said, gripping her shoulders. “See you, Lena,” they waved. 

Kara shrugged on her coat and piled the remains of her costume into a backpack, throwing it over her shoulder. 

The two made the short walk to Kara’s car, Kara sliding her hand into Lena’s when they were out of sight. The city had taken on an idyllic transformation for the holidays. Large wreaths with red felt bows adorned the street lamps, lights woven into boughs had been strung across the roads, creating a tunnel effect. In the distance, a massive Christmas tree with colored lights had been erected in the main square. No snow, but still, this was nice. 

“You’re quiet,” Lena offered, breaking the silence. 

Kara hummed with a far off look. 

Lena frowned, “Kara?”

She shrugged her shoulders, eyes downcast. “Yeah... I guess it just hit me that I’m leaving tomorrow. That I’m not going to see anyone for a month. Not going to see you.”

Lena squeezed her hand. “It’s just a few weeks. You’ll be back before you know it. And you’ll have Alex there, and your mom, and we’ll talk all the time.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

Lena stopped walking, tugging Kara back to her. She reached up, her warm hand meeting Kara’s icy cheek. She tipped onto her toes and pulled Kara in, kissing her softly. “Hey… smile for me?”

Kara breathed out shakily, her eyes still closed and face breaking opening slowly. She opened them, staring wetly into Lena. “Well, when you ask like that,” she whispered.

Lena returned her smile, stepping backwards to pull Kara along before falling back in stride with her.

“Come on, we still have a few hours left. I’ll lay on your bed and watch you pack in a way that will drive me crazy. You’ll complain about spending 9 hours in a car with Alex, and then I’ll cheer you up by cuddling and watching some horrific Hallmark movie with you. How’s that sound?”

Kara chuckled, genuinely this time. “And hot chocolate?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes, hot chocolate too,” Lena agreed. 

“You’re the best.” Kara squeezed her hand.

_______________

** _The 1st night_ **

Lena’s flight touched down in Metropolis and the family driver met her in baggage claim. The ride to the Luthor mansion was silent. Lena stared out the window as the dotted lights of the skyscrapers fell away to the snowy countryside. She was surprised at how even after just a few months away, this place no longer felt like home. 

The house was blessedly quiet when she stepped through large oak doors, a perk of booking a later flight. She crept up the stairs and into her old room, a living relic of Lena’s teenage years with band posters and bookshelves filled with well-worn pages covering the walls. She rolled her suitcase next to a large wooden dresser and left it there to deal with later. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she smiled at the notification, climbing onto a tall four-postered bed and falling back onto the pillows.

** _INSTAGRAM the.real.kd mentioned you in their story. _ ** _ 1m _

Lena opened the app, clicking on Kara’s rainbow-circled face, directly to the right of her own. The photo was of a small stack of red solo cups and a pack of ping-pong balls next to a small hand-written letter in her own looping cursive. “_ Because if I’m going to let you keep being my partner, I’d like to actually win once in a while. Practice up, superstar - L.” _

Kara captioned the picture with a small _ @lluthor ‘s got jokes. _

Lena grinned to herself when an incoming call cut across her screen. She hit the green icon, holding the phone to her ear.

“_ Very sneaky, Miss Luthor, _” Kara said in lieu of a hello.

“I thought so. I know you’re a child and can’t be trusted not to open things early, so Alex is good for something every once in a while. ”

“_I’m telling her you said that _.”

“Or you could not.”

_“Or I could not. _ _It’s a nice surprise though, thank you, even though you chose to be mean to me on Hanukkah._”

“Calm down, it’s just the first night. I did a little homework and read that I’m supposed to start small on the first night.”

“_You did Hanukkah homework? _”

“Well, yeah. I’m not promising to be an expert or anything, but I wanted to celebrate with you even if I can’t be there.”

“_You’re sweet _ ,” she softened, the smile evident in her voice. “_Did you just get in? _”

“Yeah, laying in bed now. Successfully avoided any family time on my way in, so going to quit while I’m ahead and pass out early.”

“_Okay, well I’ll let you go then. Sleep good and I’ll talk to you in the morning. _”

“Good night, Kara.”

“‘_ Night. _”

_______________

** _The 2nd night_ **

Lena put the finishing touches on her make-up, a more dramatic look than normal more suited to the upscale gala awaiting her downstairs. She clasped an elegant silver bracelet around her wrist, her Christmas present from Kara, the emerald studs perfectly suited to the sparkly dress currently hugging her curves. 

Staring into a floor length mirror, she cocked her head to the side, picking at the thick fabric of her dress, wiggling into the scooping neckline and adjusting the placement of the sleeves along her biceps. Finally satisfied, she snapped a photo of herself in the mirror, puffing her chest out and pouting her lips before sending it to Kara with a note to _ Wish me luck! _

** _[Kara 7:49 pm]: _ ** _ You look amazing <33 go get em _

Riding on a burst of confidence, Lena made her way down to join the party. Double winding staircases overlooked a large, impersonal reception hall. Caterers milled about offering horderves and plucking up empty glasses left in the wake of boisterous business associates and their guests. Lena slipped through the crowd, ignoring the way the heads of tipsy old men craned downwards at her as she passed and found a table covered in champagne flutes, downing one quickly and grabbing another. 

“Easy, Lena, _ please _,” a voice hushed behind her. 

Turning and wiping her mouth, Lena forced a smile onto her face. “Mom, hi.”

Lena straightened at her attention. Though Lillian Luthor was nearing her sixties, she looked as graceful as polished as ever, hair pulled into a tight bun, make-up impeccable, and a long sleeved, gold dress that screamed old money. She pursued her lips, glancing around and softening her face.

“Hi, sweetheart. Good of you to join us. How have you been?”

“Um, good. Just busy with school and work.”

“Yes, I’ll bet. Well if it’s not too much of a burden to you, there are some people I would like you to meet. Robert Queen has been asking after you all night.”

Before she could answer, she was swept up into a swirling hug. “Lena!” Her brother set her down, scotch lingering on his breath as he kissed her cheek. He shot her a boyish grin, eyes glazy. “There you are, we’ve been waiting. Mother, you don’t mind if I steal her?”

Lillian’s tight smile relaxed into something warmer. She slowly nodded, “Yes, of course. Enjoy yourselves and I’ll see you later on.”

“Fantastic!” Lex cheered, guiding Lena away by the small of her back. “You looked like you could use the save,” he whispered, probably louder than he intended. 

“Yes, god, thank you,” Lena sighed, snatching a new flute from a passing tray. 

He led them to a group of considerably younger men circled around a small high top table, a few she recognized from his school days. 

“Boys, you remember my sister, Lena?” They nodded along, sipping at rocks glasses and introducing themselves genially. 

“Alden,” the last greeted, a sharp-featured man with dark stubble and neatly coiffed brown hair. Lena supposed she would find him attractive if not for the arrogance dripping off of him and the crawling sensation left when he held her hand a beat too long. “So Lena, are you here alone tonight?”

“I am, yes,” she answered tightly. 

“That’s right,” Lex said putting his arm around her shoulders. “I was sorry to hear about you and Jack. Poor guy, never stood a chance.”

“His loss is our gain,” Alden leered at her neckline, raising his glass. 

“Uh, yeah.” Lena shook out of Lex’s grasp and did what she could to fix her flattened curls. The conversation turned to boasting about some business dealing or other and Lena quickly checked out, standing uncomfortably off to the side. She checked her phone every thirty seconds or so, praying for a distraction that never came. All the while, Alden shifted closer and closer until he was practically pressed to her side, swinging his glass in the air as he talked, the back of his arm grazing Lena’s front far too often to be a coincidence. 

“I’m, uh, going to get some air.”

“I’ll come with you,” he offered, sliding his hand too low across her back. 

She recoiled, glaring at him. “It wasn’t an invitation.” 

The other boys snickered, Lex’s lips upturned. Alden scoffed, muttering something like _ bitch _ under his breath. 

“_Watch it,” _Lex hissed, pushing the man in the chest. 

“And on that note…” Lena rolled her eyes, dismissing herself. She ordered herself a scotch from the makeshift bar stand and stepped out onto the balcony, mostly deserted on account of the freezing temperature, but still preferable to being inside. 

She leant against the stone guardrail, flicking through her phone, stopping on a photo of her and Kara cheeks pressed together, Lena grinning while Kara stuck her tongue out. The photo had been taken while they had been curled up on a couch at a recent game night and Lena smiled at the memory, missing the blonde more than ever. 

** _[Outgoing Call: Kara Danvers 9:37 pm]_ **

_ “Lena, hi! I was just thinking about you.” _

“Same...” She hugged at her middle, braving off the cold. “How is your night going?”

_ “Great! I was just about to open your present actually, so this is perfect.” _

_ “ _Well, go on then,” Lena said, feigning exhaustion. She heard paper tearing on the other end, but Kara remained silent. “Kara?”

“_Yeah, I’m here... Glowy stars _,” she whispered. 

“Yeah...” Lena hesitated. “Is that okay? You told me once that you used to have them in your bedroom growing up, and I thought, well, you might like a little reminder of home. I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”

“_I love them, they’re perfect, _” Kara spoke quietly. 

“Are you sure?”

“_Yes, definitely. Thank you, Lena. _”

“You’re w-welcome,” Lena shivered involuntarily.

“_Are you okay? Aren’t you in the middle of some big fancy party? _”

She took a sip, letting the fire burn down her throat. “Technically. I had to step out for a minute.”

“_Oh no, did something happen? _”

“No, just Lex’s douche friends being Lex’s douche friends.”

“_Whose ass do I need to kick? _”

“No one’s.” She pinched her nose and huffed, watching the fog stream out. “Ugh, I should be used to it at this point, but they are just so fucking annoying. I swear it’s like they think that just because they have a little money that it entitles them to say what they want, and touch what they want, and fucking stare. It’s exhausting.”

“_ Oh, fuuck that. Give me a name. I’ll show them where they can put their hands. _”

“I think you’re a little far away, sweetheart.”

“_Too far _,” Kara pouted.

“I agree,” Lena sighed. “I wish you were here with m-me.”

“_Me too _ ,” Kara whispered. “_You’re cold. You should probably head in. _”

“I know, you’re right. Just a few more m-minutes? Distract me?”

Kara paused.

“P-please? Just hearing your voice is already making me feel better.”

“_Just two minutes, I don’t want you to get sick _ ,” Kara asserted. “_So tell me the best and worst part of your day. _”

_______________

** _The 3rd night_ **

Lena had successfully made it through dinner unscathed. She attributed it to lingering hangovers that conversation had been rather limited and the meal was over quickly. When she returned to the solitude of her room, she was welcomed by a particularly adorable photo of a cross-legged Kara curled around a tea mug in a bright blue unicorn onesie, the hood draped lopsided over her forehead.

** _[Kara 7:34 pm]: _ ** _ as much as I love this, i’d still rather have you :) _

** _[Kara 7:34 pm]: _ ** _ merry christmas eve! _

Lena smiled, remembering the accompanying note that she had scrawled out weeks ago. 

_ We didn’t have many traditions growing up. One that I’d always liked was that my dad would buy us new pajamas every Christmas Eve, and I wanted to share that with you this year. Wish I were there to keep you warm tonight, but hopefully this is a comfy substitution. - L _

** _[Lena 8:17 pm]: _ ** _ very cute :) _

** _[Kara 8:17 pm]: _ ** _ :))) _

** _[Kara 8:17 pm]: _ ** _ whatcha doing? _

** _[Lena 8:34 pm]: _ ** _ Just got out of the shower. Going to watch a movie and pass out. _

** _[Kara 8:36 pm]: _ ** _ sounds like a good time! _

** _[Kara 8:36 pm]: _ ** _ which movie? _

** _[Lena 8:37 pm]: _ ** _ I think I’m finally going to check out Sorcerer’s Stone. _

Lena sat back, smirking, and waited for the flood of texts she knew was on its way. 

** _[Kara 8:39 pm]: _ ** _ LENA _

** _[Kara 8:39 pm]: _ ** _ HP!!! _

** _[Kara 8:39 pm]: _ ** _ HOW HAVE YOU NEVER SEEN IT?? _

** _[Kara 8:39 pm]: _ ** _ HOW DID I NOT KNOW THAT YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT??? _

** _[Kara 8:40 pm]: _ ** _ AND YOU’RE WATCHING IT WITHOUT ME _

** _[Kara 8:40 pm]: _ ** _ LIKE A BETRAYER _

** _[Kara 8:40 pm]: _ ** _ !!!!! _

Lena checked her appearance in her front mirror, wiping away a smudge of eyeliner and grabbed a sweatshirt off of the floor, throwing it over her head. 

** _[Lena 8:43 pm]: _ ** _ would you like to watch it with me? _

** _[Kara 8:44 pm]: _ ** _ yes :))) _

** _[Incoming FaceTime: Kara 8:45 pm]_ **

_______________

** _The 4th night_ **

** _[Kara 6:37 am]: _ ** _ Good morning! _

** _[Kara 6:37 am]: _ ** _ Merry Christmas!!! _

** _[Lena 8:42 am]: _ ** _ Thank you :) _

** _[Lena 8:42 am]: _ ** _ Heading down now to go open presents. _

_______________

** _The 5th night_ **

** _INSTAGRAM the.real.kd mentioned you in their story. _ ** _ 3m _

_ @lluthor is just spoiling me now. _

_______________

** _The 6th night_ **

** _[Incoming Call: Kara Danvers 8:36 pm]_ **

“Hello?”

“_Lena... This is too much. _”

She chuckled. “It was nothing... Do you like them?”

“_Box seats to the Ireland friendly?! Um, _ fuck yes, _ I like them, but it’s way too much. I can’t accept these. _”

“You can. They didn’t cost me anything, just called in a favor from Lex.” 

Not technically true, but Kara didn’t need to know that. What good is a trust fund if she couldn’t have fun with it every once in a while? “And I know you’ve been wanting to catch a match. You can take some of the team and making it an outing.” 

“_Lena... _”

“Kara.”

“_Lena! _”

“Hey, if you don’t want to take them, Sara assured me that she could take them off of your hands?” 

“..._ Thank you. Really, thank you so much _,” she said quietly.

“You’re very welcome.”

“_Will you come too? I’ve never actually got to watch a match with you. _”

“And miss out the opportunity for you to be my own personal commentator? I wouldn’t miss it.”

Kara squealed on the other end of the line. “_ Oh my god, this is going to be so fun. You are _ actually _ the best. _”

“Alright, alright, easy. I’m glad you like them.”

“_I do. I really miss you. So much. Ready to be back home with you. _”

Affection swelled throughout her chest. “I miss you too, sweetheart, just a little bit longer, I promise.”

“_Can’t come soon enough. As much as I love our phone dates, it’s not the same. _”

“I know. _ Trust me _, I know. These last few days have been rough.”

“_When do you leave? _”

“Tomorrow, thank God. Lex is back at his penthouse and my mom is leaving for her annual New Year’s get away, so I’m free.”

“_That will be nice. You can get back and in your own space, unwind a little. _”

“Yep. That’s the plan. So, what are you guys up to?”

“_Alex and I are going to meet some high school friends out at the bar in a few minutes, catch up and all that. It’s kind of a tradition now that everyone is spread out all over the country. This is the only time a year that we’re all back in town. _”

“Oh, that will be good! Okay, well, I guess I’ll let you go get ready. Say hi to Alex for me?”

“_Will do, text you later. And thank you again. _”

“Good night, Kara.”

_______________

** _The 7th night_ **

Lena had spent the last week sleeping away as much of her time home as physically possible, but today she was up with the sun, nerves on end. Today was the day. Finally, today was the day. 

The only problem was that now she had hours until her flight and she was already going stir crazy. She did her laundry, packed her bags, and was ready to go before it was even lunch time. 

Resigned, she called in an appointment for a massage. Boom, kill some time and try to relax. Two birds, one stone. 

When that was done, she still had time to get to the airport a full two hours early. 

Her flight touched down and she called for a cab, counting the passing street lamps as she grew more and more anxious. She needed to get a grip and there was one person she could always count on to ground her. 

** _[Outgoing Call: Kara Danvers 7:14 pm]_ **

_ “Hello?” _

“Hey,” Lena said a little too breathlessly. She ran fingers through her hair, shaking it out. 

“_Hey, you back yet? _”

“Mhm,” Lena hummed, her heart racing now. 

“_Cool! We were just about to light the candles for the night and open presents. Actually… I didn’t see anything from Alex today. Lemme go ask her. Oh wait, somebody’s at the door hold on -- _” 

The blue door swung open, and a moment of confusion passed over Kara’s face before she’d looked like she’d seen a ghost. 

“Wha -- _ Lena _?” she spoke into the phone still at her ear. 

Lena finally exhaled. “Surprise?”

“Oh my god, Lena!” Kara squealed, jumping into her arms. Kara pulled back to crash their lips together. “What’re you -- doing -- here? Oh’m -- god -- fuck --”

“_Kara _ ,” Lena gasped, clutching at her back. “_Can’t -- breathe _.”

Kara gave her a final squeeze before releasing her. “You’re here,” Kara panted, her cheeks pulling wide, eyes bordering on deranged. 

“I am,” Lena smiled, touching her lip. “Wow. I need to lie to you more often.”

A hand wrapped around the door and Alex appeared, other hand clasped over her eyes, peeking through. “Are you two done yet?”

Kara turned around, her eyes still wide. “You knew?!”

“Obviously. How do you think she got here? Hey, Luthor, good to see you.”

Kara socked her in the arm, looking affronted. Shaking her head, she turned back to Lena, grabbing for the suitcase at her feet. “Come in!”

Lena stepped into the large lakeside home. The Danvers home was everything that the Luthors’ was not. In place of traditional lavish finishings and art selected by an interior decorator, the Danvers house was modern with coastal blue tones. The walls were covered with white shelving filled to the brim with mismatched books, family photos, and potted plants. Low lighting from table lamps provided an intimate setting for the evening. 

An older woman emerged from the kitchen. If Lena hadn’t known any better, she would have sworn Alex was the adopted one. Eliza Danvers was a beautifully blonde woman with kind blue eyes, a warm smile, and dressed in a soft pink cardigan and jeans. 

“You must be Lena,” the woman greeted, surprising Lena by pulling her into a hug. “We’re so happy you could join us. We were just about to light the menorah. Kara, sweetie, are you ready?”

Kara was smiling at the two, and nodded her head, walking over to a small silver menorah in the living room window. The trio followed her, Lena standing off to the side, unsure what to do. Kara waved her over, Lena sidling up to her. Kara reached for the small box of matches laying on the side table, plucking one out and striking it. 

“We light one for each night, seven tonight,” she explained softly to Lena. She held the match to the middle elevated candle, letting it catch before shaking out the match. “This is the servant candle, the shammash.” She plucked the candle from its stand and slowly lit the candles left to right, softly singing a haunting prayer in Hebrew. _Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam__..._ Lena had heard her sing before, but this was different. It was beautiful, the moment reverent as the candle light played across her face. 

Kara’s face scrunched into a smile when she was done, silently staring at the candles burning in the window sill.

“Thank you, honey, that was lovely,” Eliza spoke softly. The group moved into the living room to open presents, Lena dropping into the space next to Kara, though not overly close. 

“I didn’t bring anything tonight, sorry.” Lena whispered, watching Alex unwrap a new pair of riding boots. 

“You’re here, that’s more than enough,” Kara smiled, patting her thigh. 

They played card games for the rest of the night, chatting idly over mugs of hot tea and cookies. Eliza and Lena bonded over a shared love of science and discussed Alex’s study progress. Lena and Alex gently ribbed each other, falling into their comfortable back and forth. Kara sat back for the most part, legs tucked underneath her and smiling dreamily, just enjoying having all of the people she loved the most in the same room together. 

Near midnight, they decided to call it a night, Lena fluffing up the pillows and grabbing a blanket from a basket to nest into the couch.

“What're you doing?" Kara asked watching her.

"Taking the couch?" 

“That's no fun. Come on, we can share,” Kara said eagerly. 

Lena was skeptical, but she gave in. 

If Lena wasn’t unsure before, she definitely was when they climbed up to the lofted room that Kara and Alex shared, eyeing the two quilted-covered twin beds pushed to either side. 

“It’s fine,” Kara insisted, following her stare. “C’mon, bathrooms down the hall.”

They took first dibs on the bathroom, Alex leaving them alone when they were finished. Their room was painted a seafoam green with white shelving similar to the downstairs and it was littered with childhood memorabilia. Lena paced along the walls, taking in the photos of a gangly teenaged Kara, thumbing along her favorite books, and admiring her trinkets. 

“I still can’t believe you’re here,” Kara murmured against her ear, wrapping her up from behind. Lena turned in her arms to place a chaste kiss on her lips. 

“No place I’d rather be.”

Kara led her over to the bed underneath a small octagonal window rounded with miniature paper lanterns, Lena sitting on the edge while Kara pulled on some shorts and a faded yellow Midvale Stallions tee. She pulled back the covers and climbed in, patting the space beside her. Lena followed, sliding in close in the smaller bed. 

Kara reached over to click off a rounded bedside lamp and Lena felt an arm wrap around her middle under the blankets. 

“Hands,” Lena warned. 

She could practically feel the pout behind her.

“We’re in your mom’s house and Alex is going to be back any second,” she continued. 

“That’s why I have to enjoy this while it lasts,” Kara argued, nosing against the back of her neck.

“Kara…” Lena whined with less insistence.

Footsteps landing much louder than necessary neared the room and the door handle wiggled several times before Alex re-emerged, freshly showered and toweling off her short hair. She took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dark room and climbed into her own bed, checking her phone briefly before clicking it off and setting it on her bedside table.

She rolled over to face the wall. “I _ swear to God _ if I hear anything from that side of the room that is not snoring, I’m going to beat both of you.”

“Good night, Alex,” Lena called, snugging back into Kara. 

_______________

** _The 8th night_ **

Too early, Lena felt a rustle beside her as Kara pulled back the covers on her side of the bed and crawled over Lena, bridging her body as not to disturb the brunette. The sound of wooden drawers scraping open and closed carried over from the other side of the room. 

“Time is it?” Lena mumbled, eyes still closed.

Warm lips pressed to her cheek and Kara whispered into her ear. “Go back to sleep. Gonna get my run in.” Lena was fast asleep by the time the bedroom door clicked behind her. 

Some time later, a damp, shivering body slid back into the bed beside her, koalaing around her, leeching any warmth available. 

“You’re freezing,” Lena whined as Kara slipped her feet between Lena’s legs. 

“Mm, you’re not,” Kara whispered, snuggling into her back. 

Lena groaned, rolling over and tucking Kara into her chest. “C’mere and shut up. Sleepin’.” 

Lena felt Kara’s breathing settle out below her chin, warm puffs hitting her throat, hands winding into the fabric at her back. 

She was roused once again when Alex woke up and began moving around the room, finally feeling rested. She drummed her fingers against Kara’s hip to wake her, the blonde blinking her eyes slowly. “Hey.”

“Morning,” Lena smiled, rolling away and out of the bed. Kara frowned at the missing warmth. “So what’s the plan for the day? Want to show me around your town?” Lena asked pulling on a pair of jeans and a fuzzy gray patterned sweater of Kara’s. 

With fresh mugs of coffee, the two stepped out onto a large balcony overlooking a rocky inlet to the lake, blue hillsides looming in the distance. Kara took a seat on a brown wicker sofa, Lena joining her and looking around, able to see the landscape properly in the daylight. 

“This is beautiful,” Lena awed, cupping her hands around the mug for warmth.

“Not what you expected?”

“I don’t know what I expected, but I guess not. Makes me re-think living in the city.”

“It’s nice to visit for sure, but I think you’d get bored,” Kara mused, running her thumb over Lena’s thigh. “I do love it here though.”

The two sat together, content to watch boats dot across the water and enjoy the sleepy morning. 

“Feeling adventurous?” Kara asked breaking the silence.

Lena narrowed her eyes warily. “Maybe.”

“You’ll like this, I promise.” Kara laughed. They tossed on some boots and climbed down to the rocky ledge overlooking the water, Kara pointing out her favorite spots from summer days spent exploring with Alex. 

They borrowed the car, winding down forest-lined roads into town for coffee and to pick up supplies for dinner that night. Kara drove her around, showing her the high school, riding along the waterfront, and taking her to her favorite diner for a late lunch. They even savored the last of their time alone, taking a detour off into a wooded area. 

Realizing the sun had set, they climbed back to the front of the car and made their way back to the house. They let themselves into the back door, giggling and poking at each other. Eliza had returned from an afternoon spent at the lab, reading at the kitchen counter while Alex watched an old action movie on the couch. They plopped down on either side of her, grabbing at the popcorn nestled in her lap. 

“You better not’ve hurt my car,” Alex drawled, not looking away from the screen. The two shot each other conspiratorial glances, neither speaking, just settling in for the movie. 

The night passed, and the family gathered for a final night to light the menorah, Alex doing the honors this time. Lena watched the girls open their presents, letting her own burn in her pocket. When they dispersed for the evening, she grabbed a blanket and led Kara out onto the balcony.

The pair tucked together for warmth, pulling the blanket around their shoulders. Kara swung her knee up onto the cushion to face sideways. Lena mirrored her, pulling the small box from her sweater pocket and holding it in her lap. Their eyes met, the reflection of the twinkling bulbs strung along the roof dancing in Kara’s glasses. 

“So, the last night,” she said nervously. 

“Yep,” Kara eyed the package. “Is it weird that I’m nervous for whatever that is? You’ve already done too much.” She twisted a watch around her wrist, running her thumb over the metal notches. 

Lena placed her hand over, stilling her, leaving it there. “I mean, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but it makes me happy to see you happy… this is the last one, I promise.”

“Okay,” Kara agreed warily. Lena passed her the box. Kara pulled the navy ribbon loose and shimmied the lid off. She stared at the small piece of metal perched on a tiny bed of white fluff, pulling at her lips silently.

Lena studied her, her chest tight, as she tried to read Kara’s reaction. She gently plucked the box from Kara, settling it to the side, and holding each of Kara’s hands in her own. She stared at their joined hands, centering herself.

Lena took a deep breath, praying she could find the right words.

“...I’ve been fortunate to live in many places in my life, all over the world. But with each move, each place felt less like a home, and more like a… a temporary. A just-for-now and onto the next one. That is, until a few months ago. Until I met you... I know we’ve only known each other for a short time, but I’ve found home in you, Kara.” She exhaled shakily. “You’re the best part of my every day and being away from you is the worst. You already have the key to my heart, but I wanted you to have the key to my apartment and…” 

She groaned, hiding her face in her hands. “And, _ god _, that’s so, so cheesy, but it’s true.” Lena rubbed her palms down her cheeks. “Please stop me.”

Kara smiled at her, eyes crinkling, and reached up to pry Lena’s hands from her face, recapturing them in her own and kissing her knuckles. “It’s _ super _ cheesy,” she laughed. “But that’s what makes me love you.” 

A panicked expression passed over her face, before she schooled it into something more determined. “... I love you, Lena.”

Lena let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and leant forward, cupping Kara’s cheek and connecting their lips, so soft, so warm. 

She pulled away a fraction of an inch, staring into glassy eyes. “I love you, too,” she whispered before reconnecting their lips. Kara’s hands wound up, pulling her closer by the nape of her neck, deepening the kiss.

Lena broke them apart, leaning her forehead against Kara’s and catching her breath. “So… does this mean you’d considering being my, my girlfriend… officially?” she asked, feeling juvenile.

Kara chuckled, warm air puffing against her. “I feel like we did this way out of order, but yes, obviously I want that... I want you,” Kara softened, placing a chaste kiss to her lips.

“God, _ finally, _ you two are the fucking worst,” a voice called from above them. 

They sprung apart, looking up to see Alex perched on the rooftop, knees tucked to her chest and swigging a bottle of beer. 

Lena buried her face in her hands. 

Kara glared, yelling up to her, “How long have you been there, creep?”

“Too fucking long.” Alex called back. 

_ “Kill me,” _ Lena groaned. Kara glanced at her apologetically.

She narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Why didn’t you like… _ leave?” _

“You were having a _ moment, _” Alex shrugged. “If you two are done, let’s go get some ice cream. You owe me for enduring that.”

Kara looked like she was about to protest, but… ice cream. “Fine,” she agreed petulantly. She stood, holding her hand out for Lena to grab. “Lena?”

“Absolutely,” she said, intertwining their fingers and following her inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and all of the kind words! Y'all's comments seriously do make my day.


	8. Chapter 8

Lena handed the last of their bags to Kara and watched her slide it on top of a cooler and swing the back hatch of Ava’s Wrangler closed. 

Kara peeked around the side of the car and seeing that the coast was clear pushed Lena against the back of the car, pressing flush against her and capturing her lips. Lena smiled into it, nose bumping her sunglasses and tipping the bill of Kara’s hat up for more access. 

Kara pulled away abruptly at the sound of approaching footsteps, taking a step and clasping her hands behind her back and rocking onto her toes.

Sara leant against the side of the car, looking up from her phone. “Hey, we all good?”

“Yep,” Kara popped. “Just got the last of it now.”

“Sweet, the other cars are ready too. Where’s your sister?” 

On cue, Alex pulled up the side of the driveway on her bike, throwing off her helmet and unlatching her bag from the back saddle. “Here! Sorry I’m late.”

“Right on time, Big D,” Sara smirked. 

Alex glared at her. “We’ve talked about this.”

“_You _ talked about it, true,” Sara said smug.

“The woods are an easy place to hide a body, Lance. Remember that,” Alex warned. 

“Ooooo,” Sara mocked, wiggling her fingers in front of her. 

“Get in the fucking truck,” Alex scoffed.

“Oo, _ bossy _. Keep talking to me like that and you can be Daddy Danvers,” Sara winked as Ava, Kara, and Lena collectively rolled their eyes. 

Alex pulled Sara’s door open and shoved her in, almost masking her grin. 

They others climbed into the Jeep, Ava and Sara in the front, Kara, Lena, and Alex squished into the back. 

“Y’all ready? Spring Break twenty _ twenty _!” Sara cheered, plugging a cord into her phone and nodding along to the guitar thrumming as the caravan pulled out from the driveway. 

Ava turned at the volume knob, checking the map on her phone and speaking to no one in particular. “Okay, the campgrounds are a little over two hours away, so we’re good on gas. Y’all okay to just drive it straight through?”

“Can we stop by a Starbucks?” Lena asked, rubbing her eyes.

“It’s, like, 2:30,” Kara laughed.

“Hey, I’m just trying to get my last taste of civilization before we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere for the next four days,” Lena said defensively. 

“One, yes, seconded,” Alex piped up. “Two, it’s barely the middle of nowhere. There’s a little town 10 minutes from the site and there’s bathrooms and showers on the grounds.”

Kara’s lips upturned, nudging her shoulder. “We’re very aware that we aren’t up for _ actual _ camping. Usually somebody breaks down after the first night and makes food runs into town instead of whatever we’re cooking.”

“It’s a cool site though,” Ava said, pulling onto the interstate. “There’s a little river that runs next to our site and a decent hiking trail, if you’re up for it.”

“She’s up for it,” Kara smiled, reaching into Lena’s lap to interlock their fingers. 

Lena grinned tightly and hummed in agreement. While it may have been her first experience camping, and she was generally averse to the outdoors, she was determined to be a good sport for Kara’s sake. 

_______________

Pulling into the park, Lena was pleased to see a few small rock-sided buildings not too far from their site, as promised. They parked near a small clearing with a single picnic table and small metal grill in the middle. The site was elevated with a wooden guard rail lining out the area. A small pebbled path led down to a slow-moving river about twenty feet below their overlook. Dying sunlight streamed down on them through the overhanging trees, providing just enough heat without being overbearing. 

Camping, as it turns out, did have some unexpected perks. Namely, a flannel-clad, axe-wielding Kara awakening something she hadn’t known even existed in herself. Kara had fully dressed the part, loose jeans tucked into clunky leather hiking boots, a red flannel rolled to the elbows over a tight white tank top, hair braided back below her cap. 

While the team worked together to unpack the cars and get camp set up, Kara and James had found said axe nestled amongst the luggage and abandoned their tasks to play-fight (whooshing sound effects and all) as they swung wildly and danced around each other. Even from a distance, Lena could see the lines in her forearm straining against the imbalanced weight of the metal end. She wasn’t sure if she was more horrified or turned on but...

“Soo, are we just going to let that happen?” Lena asked nodding her head in their direction, raising her brow at Ava as they unloaded the tent poles from their pouch. 

Ava looked up to see Kara swinging the axe in slow motion over James and Sara as they Matrix-dodged it. 

“Ugh, children,” she sighed. She raised her voice at the group. “Hey! Go be useful and find us some firewood! … _ Safely _!”

Kara turned at the sound and puffed out her chest, saluting. “Yes, boss!” she grunted back.

Lena smiled, watching Kara turn and laugh with the others as they stomped off along a graveled path. Ava glanced back to the tent diagram on the ground. “Lena, do you see the long poles?”

When the brunette didn’t answer, Ava followed her eye line, grinning. “Earth to Lena?”

“Hmm?” Lena roused, blinking back at her.

Ava chuckled. “Oh, you’re in deep. Pass me those gray poles.”

She rolled her eyes, handing the metal rods over. “Just... the normal amount.”

“No, seriously. It’s been a few months now. How is everything going with you and Kara?”

“Ehm…” She turned away, grinning into her chest, schooling her face before turning back and looking into Ava’s eyes earnestly. “Things are… good.”

Ava arched her brow, sliding a rod into its designated tent loop. “Some high praise there.”

She laughed. “What do you want me to say? You guys are around us the most -- you know.” 

Lena wasn’t sure why she was deflecting so much. Being gushy made her squirmy, but she had to admit that it would nice to finally be able to talk to someone about this -- the only downside to having your two best friends be your girlfriend and her sister. 

The truth was that things with Kara had been amazing. The last few months of dating Kara had felt like years. Not in a dragging way, but like, in the level of comfort and trust and -- and understanding that they had built together. She’d never felt like this for someone else before and it could be a bit scary at times, but being with Kara: it was just… it was everything. 

Lena softened, speaking low as they worked. “She’s… she’s Kara, you know? Loving her is the easiest thing. And there’s all of those clichés like ‘she makes me feel like the only girl in the room’ or that my heart skips a beat when she walks through the door, but it’s more than that. It’s like… it’s all of the little things.” 

Ava’s eyes gleamed as she continued working silently and let Lena get it all out.

“...It’s like feeling the need to text her pictures of dogs I see across campus because I know they’ll make her smile and I want her to be a part of my day. Or watching a sad movie and not being afraid to cry in front of someone else because you know there won’t be any judgement. Or agreeing to whatever nonsense thing she’s suggested this time because I know I’ll get to hear her laugh. And she has the best laugh, and her smile. Her smile... and she’s so, so ...”

“Hot?” Ava suggested.

“Ugh, _ so _ hot,” Lena agreed. “That part is nice too...”

Ava shook her head “... So you’re just in it the normal amount, then. Here, let’s get this lifted up,” she said, pinching the jointed poles of the 10-man tent between her fingers. 

Lena stood, having her pole lifted too far above her head. She extended her fingers with no luck. “I’m too short,” she called over to Ava. 

“Hold on, I think I got it,” Ava grunted. “Go clip and anchor those low ends for me.” 

Lena did as she was told and the tent successfully stood when she pushed the last pole into the ground. The pair stood back and surveyed their handy work. Ava high-fived her for a job well done. They tossed their bags inside the tent and laid out their sleeping bags and blankets into a few nests. 

When they had everything settled, they walked over to set canvas chairs into a circle around an ash-filled fire pit. They collapsed into them, pulling out a few beers from a cooler. 

Nearby, Alex and Brainy wrestled with a bag of charcoal at the grill, prepping for dinner. Charlie, Nia, Zari, Leslie, and Lucy had already finished on their tents and pulled out a ball from one of the cars, spinning the ball around in a circle as the sun began to set. 

Branches crunching below heavy footsteps alerted them to others’ return. Kara and Sara drug a comically large log across the ground while James had a batch of smaller chunks cradled under one arm and swung the axe next to his ankles with the other. 

They dropped the wood at their feet, Kara hunching over and swinging her arms around her knees, grunting. “Me bring tree. You make fi-yah.” 

Lena chuckled, crouching down on her knees to pick through the manageable-sized pieces. “Need you to chop that up, love.”

Kara grunted in response, breaking character to lean down and kiss Lena on the cheek, looking all too happy for a reason to continue playing with the axe. Lena watched as they took turns swing into the wood, the task quickly turning into more of a pissing contest of who could get the biggest cuts in. Still, they looked good while doing it. 

She set to work meticulously placing the smaller sticks into a teepee and nestling some twigs into the center for kindling. The rest of the group joined them, grabbing their own drinks and watching Lena work. 

“Looking like a pro, Luthor. Thought you hadn’t been camping before?” Alex asked, propping her feet onto the rocks circling the pit. 

Lena shot her an unimpressed look. “Fuel, oxygen, heat,” she said holding a stick and lighter. “Not that difficult.” 

She ate her words when despite her best efforts, she could not get the smaller sticks to ignite, the flames petering out after seconds. 

“Here, I got you,” Alex offered, plucking a container of lighter fluid from a bag. “Get the little ones lit again,” Alex instructed, standing at the ready. 

Lena leant over to click the lighter once more, catching the ends of a few twigs. Liquid splashed across the logs from behind her and the flames violently whooshed to life inches from her face, sending her backwards in shock. 

“You dick,” Lena cursed at her. 

“Hush, you’re fine. It worked didn’t it?”

That was debatable, as the flames were already dying down. Alex squirted more fluid onto them for life. Kara rushed over, helping Lena to her feet and brushing dirt off of the back of her leggings. 

“Hey, you ok?” Kara asked worriedly. 

Lena gave her a tight smile. “Yep, all good. Your sister is just trying to kill me.”

Kara scowled at Alex, returning to Lena. “Yeah, probably should have warned you. Alex has always been a pyro.” 

Lena glanced over to see a manic gleam in Alex’s eyes as she watched the flames rise higher. “I probably could have guessed that. You want a drink?” Lena asked, handing her her can.

Kara wiped sweat from her brow and grinned wide. “Yeah, thanks.”

With the fire lit, freshly-cut logs at the ready, and dinner cooked, the group settled in for the night. Lena and Kara cuddled close, using one of the coolers as bench. They talked in circles, trading stories and joking with each other as the fire burned on. 

Alex leant forward in her chair, pointing the end of her bottle at Lena. “Okay, but it’s clear. We live on the coast. Your first move is to get on a boat and go find an island somewhere.”

“And then what?” Lena argued. “Maroon yourself? Shit goes down with the zombies and your first move needs to be to get to a sporting goods store. Supplies, weapons, protective clothing.”

Alex barked a laugh. “Okay, have fun with the looters then. That’s why you have to _ already _ have that stuff.”

Lena swigged, considering that. “That’s fair. The boat plan is still dumb though. Besides, you’d have to find one first. You know you can’t just like… hotwire those right?”

“Because sailboats aren’t a thing,” Alex drawled. “Water desalinator, fishing pole, a little burn plate. All you need.”

“That is _ not _ all you need!” Lena protested. 

“Okay then, genius. What’s your plan?”

“Mountains,” Lena spoke around her bottle. “Get the high ground. Zombies won’t be… zombie-ing up that kind of elevation, so don’t have to worry about them. Keep to yourself to avoid the other survivors. Find a little secluded cabin, plant a garden, hunt for food.”

“Hunt with what!?” Alex exclaimed. “Guns draw zombies and your tiny ass is not going to be rambo-ing deer down in the forest.” 

Lena scoffed, leaning back into Kara. “You don’t know, I could.”

“Aw, of course you could, sweetheart,” Kara pacified, letting them have it out until that point. She held Lena tighter and kissed the back of her head. 

Lena turned to her pouting slightly. “What, you don’t think I could?”

Kara smirked back at her, the fading flames reflecting in amused eyes. “... You’re so pretty.”

“I believe in you, Luthor,” Sara defended. She looked around the remaining group, most having already turned in for the night. “What? It’s the quiet ones that you have to watch out for. Besides, Lena’s too smart not to have the entire placed booby trapped to the hilt. Take a step into her territory and you’re gonna get an arrow through the eye or some shit. Any kind of apocalypse-- I want her on my team.”

“Thank you, exactly,” Lena smiled, clearly appeased.

“Guys, can we not talk about zombies while we’re in the middle of the super dark woods?” Nia asked quietly, poking at the smoldering logs with a stick. 

“Aw, you’re scarin’ the baby,” Leslie taunted, eyes closed and drooping in her chair, one leg swung over the armrest. 

“C’mon, leave her alone,” Kara laughed. “I seem to recall _ you _ being the one to ask for company to walk to the bathrooms like thirty minutes ago.”

“Mm, touché,” Leslie yawned. 

Lena yawned sympathetically, nuzzling into Kara. “I think I’m gonna turn in. Been a long day.”

“I’ll join you,” Kara agreed, standing and pulling Lena up with her. 

They crept over to their tent and shimmied the zipper open, toeing off their shoes outside the lip of the tent and crawling into the right corner of the tent, careful not to wake Ava, Charlie, and Zari already fast asleep. Kara threw open the flap of their shared bag and slid in, pulling Lena’s back into her and resealing them in, tossing a couple of extra blankets over the top of the bag. Lena snuggled back into her, grabbing Kara’s hand and dragging her arm around her. 

“G’night,” Kara murmured against her ear, falling asleep to the continued chatter from the fire and crickets chirping. 

_______________

Lena was clearing away the trash from lunch when Kara came up from behind, pawing at her hips. “Come swimming with me,” she implored. 

Lena hummed, enjoying the chill of beer-soaked lips against her neck. “Hmm, mayyybe, I don’t want to get burned...” 

Kara trailed her fingernails down Lena’s exposed arms, sending shivers through her despite the heat. “I can help with that.”

Lena’s eyes darkened as she watched Kara step away and tantalizingly slide jean shorts down tanned legs. “Yeah?” she asked, kicking herself for the breathless way the word left her lips. Stupid Kara and her stupid perfect body. 

“Definitely,” Kara purred, making a show of peeling her shirt over her head, exposing the shoulders and abs she knew Lena loved so much, leaving her in just a sports bra and spandex shorts. “... Please?”

Two could play at this game. Lena took a steadying breath and smiled innocently at Kara. “Give me a minute to get changed.”

Lena zipped the tent closed behind her and slipped on a skimpy black bikini that she may or may not have purchased for the sole purpose of teasing Kara in this exact circumstance. She pulled at the fabric to make sure everything was in its place and stepped out, throwing a little more sway into her hips than usual. 

Kara looked up from where she sat waiting and exhaled audibly. Lena smirked to herself as she turned and bent over a little more than was necessary... just to make sure the zipper closed all the way. She sauntered over to Kara and plucked the suntan lotion from her hands, turning her back on her and sweeping her hair into a bun. “You got me?” she asked over her shoulder, holding the bottle up. 

“Uh, y-yeah,” Kara stammered, taking the lotion and spreading it over her shoulders, shaky at first before her movements become stronger, more confident. The pads of her fingers dug into Lena’s back, arms, stomach, thighs, more massaging than helpful at this point.

“All good back there?” Lena asked, fighting the way Kara was working her up so easily in the middle of a very public space.

“Yup,” Kara replied in her ear, dragging her nails up the front Lena’s thighs.

“Don’t love whatever weird foreplay is happening over here,” Sara joked as she approached with two long sticks in her hands. “Check it out, Danvers, spear fishing!” she grinned, showing them the whittled ends. “Grab your sandals and let’s go.” 

They made their way down the rocky decline to the river. Lena plucked a few stones from the shoreline, skipping them into the water, Sara joining in before they waded out across the rocks. 

The river was shallow and just calm enough to carefully walk over the rounded stone covering the bottom. Lena gasped as cold water breached higher and higher on her body, keeping her footing against the growing current. The center of the river proved shallower, rushing water just barely reaching past her knees. 

They explored slowly, Kara and Sara laughing off to the edges as they speared fruitlessly into the shallows. 

Lena was admiring the picturesque view from the water, loving the way that the trees and rock formations loomed over the water, when her foot slipped on some algae and she fell. 

She yelped as the current swept her along, raking her skin across the rocky bottom. 

She heard Kara yell, splashing through the water to reach her.

The water thrashed her body around, but Lena managed to contort into an almost sitting position.

She stuck her sandaled feet in front of her to take the brunt of the impending stone as she slid painfully along. 

She lost a shoe in the process, but the water mercifully deepened, depositing her into a calmer area. 

Now unable to reach the bottom, she swam and wrestled against the current, struggling to keep her head above the surface, but at least no longer widening the distance from the other two. 

Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she could feel the back of her thighs burning from the scraping. 

Kara and Sara caught up to her, out of breath, spears abandoned. 

“Lena!” Kara gasped. “Are you okay?!”

“Shore,” she wheezed, swimming for the waters edge. She found her footing once more and stepped heavily onto the rocky shoreline, collapsing on her back. Kara followed, kneeling over her and checking her body over while Sara stood off to the side concerned. 

“Lena?” Kara asked breathlessly. 

“Lost m’ shoe,” Lena mumbled, rolling over onto her stomach and catching her breath. 

“Sweetie, you’re bleeding,” Kara hushed, ghosting her fingers over the back of Lena’s legs.

Lena winced, even the slightest touch stinging. “Is it bad?” she asked, craning her neck back to see a watery red running down her thigh.

“Not good, but you’ll be okay. Just scrapes,” Sara observed, craning her neck. “We need to get you back and get this cleaned up though.” 

Kara nodded in agreement, standing and holding her hand out to Lena. “Can you walk?” 

“Yeah,” she asserted, standing. She winced again when the arch of her foot caught the edge of a rock. 

“Here,” Kara said, toeing off her own shoe and pulling it onto Lena’s foot for her. 

“I’m not gonna take your shoe, Kara. You’re not going to be able to walk back.”

Kara took her hands in her own and squeezed them. “I’ll be fine. Let’s worry about you first.”

They began the hike back up river, taking a path along the water’s edge. Kara intertwined their fingers, tiptoeing alongside her.

Lena watched guiltily as Kara carefully placed each footfall, flinching every now and again when she miscalculated. 

“Shame, Luthor, you had such a nice ass,” Sara called up to them, making Lena laugh and breaking the tension.

“Don’t worry, babe, it’s still nice,” Kara smiled, kissing her knuckles.

Lena guessed it was about a mile walk back to camp. Sara did her best to keep the mood light, but Lena caught the worried glances from Kara every few minutes. She squeezed her hand back reassuringly each time. “It’s not that bad, Kara. I feel better already.”

When they finally made it back, Kara led her over to the picnic bench and instructed her to lay down on her stomach. She laid her head on her arms as she heard Kara find Alex and ask for her first aid kit. The two approached, Alex unzipping the kit. 

“Jesus, you okay, buddy? What happened?” Alex asked. 

“The current swept her out,” Kara explained as she moved Lena’s arms and sat down in their place, letting Lena rest her head against her thigh and hug onto her. 

“Brutal,” Alex sighed. “Okay, this may sting,” she said as she poured some antiseptic on a cheese cloth and dabbed the blood away. “Looks like it doesn’t need a bandage, but keep it clean and let it scab over and you should be okay.”

“Thanks, Alex,” Kara said as her sister packed the kit away and walked off to toss the garbage. 

Kara stroked her fingers over Lena’s still damp hair, keeping them in place. “I’m so sorry, Lena. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. I should’ve been closer. I should’ve done something.”

“S’not your fault,” Lena murmured against her leg, getting sleepy. “Nothing you could have done. Would’ve just dragged you down with me.”

“Still...”

Lena pushed up onto her elbows and looked up at the blonde. “Take a nap with me while we dry off?” she asked. 

“Sure,” Kara grimaced.

“Kara, smile, please? I’m okay, just tired,” Lena promised, standing and grabbing a couple of towels from the back of a chair. She laid them out side by side in a shade patch and beckoned Kara over. 

Kara smiled tight and followed her. She laid down on her back and waved Lena down. 

Lena landed against her chest, half on top of her once she swung an arm and leg over. She sighed against Kara’s collarbone, “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Kara smiled, instinctually sliding her free down Lena’s back and over her ass. She retracted it immediately when Lena winced at the sensitive area. “Sorry.”

“I’m okay,” Lena reassured. “Just go easy on getting too handsy.”

“But getting handsy is my most favorite,” she laughed and lowered her voice. “And it doesn’t help that you’re still wearing _ this _.”

“Thought you might like it,” Lena grinned, the warm sun pulling her into unconsciousness. 

“You thought right,” Kara said, kissing the top of her head. “Ugh, I love you.”

“Said that already.”

“Can say it as much as I want,” Kara sleepily argued, pulling her tighter to her body. 

“Mm, I like it,” Lena mumbled, drifting off. 

_______________

The next couple of days passed in a blur of day drinking, hiking, bonfires, and games. On their final night, they gathered around the fire once last time and grew rowdier than ever before. Sara had declared that they had to kill the rest of beer “or else”, so they had their work cut out for themselves. 

Drinking games turned to karaoke turned to skinny-dipping turned to slap-boxing turned to baring their souls to each other. 

Thankfully the nearest campers were a safe distance away and seemed to be having their own party if the sound of carrying music and yelling were anything to go by. 

As it neared the early morning hours, they began dropping like flies until it was only Kara and Lena left standing. 

“Dance with me!” Kara slurred, pulling Lena off her chair. 

They laughed into each other’s necks as they moved out of rhythm to the muffled country song coming from the other site. Kara spun her around and around, pretzeling their arms and weaving. 

“Dizzy,” Lena wheezed, falling hard into Kara’s chest after a particularly enthusiastic twirl. 

Kara caught her around the waist as Lena wound her arms around her neck. Kara held her there, letting her hands roam up and down Lena as she loudly sung along to the lyrics, even getting some of the lyrics right. 

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up!” Alex groaned from within one of the tents. 

Kara giggled, puffing the air in her cheeks and hiding her face in Lena’s neck. She pulled them down to the ground, splaying out on their backs.

“This is so cool,” Lena breathed, staring up at the stars. 

“Can’t get this in the city,” Kara agreed. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” Lena mused, rolling onto Kara’s chest and kissing her softly before rolling back.

“Hey, no, comeback,” Kara pouted, grasping out for Lena, but missing.

Lena rolled back, straddling her properly now, hands bracketing her head. “Mm, like this?” she whispered. 

“Yeah, thas a good one,” Kara spoke against her lips, holding her there. 

Lena nipped at her, capturing her lips and biting, trailing down her neck. She paused to rest her head against her shoulder. 

“Need a minute,” she whispered, closing her eyes and rolling back to Kara’s side, finding her hand on the grass and clumsily grabbing it. 

“Hey! Shooting star!” Kara hushed. 

“Wha? Where?!” Lena asked, her eyes popping open. 

“You misst it.”

“Noo!” Lena dismayed. “I’ve never seen one.”

“We’ll keep looking!” Kara exclaimed in a whisper. “You gotta see one!”

But another one never came. They laid together in the dark, the fire on it’s last leg. 

“Hey, Kara? You awake?” Lena asked, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah,” she whispered.

“Thanks for bringing me here.”

“You’re welcome, baby. Had fun?”

“Tons of fun. I like your friends.”

“They like you.”

“That’s cool. I like them, too.”

“Yeah, they like you too.”

“Hey, Kara?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sleepy.”

“Okay, come on,” Kara whispered, climbing off the ground and holding her hands out, wiggling her fingers at Lena.

“No, stay.”

“Not sleeping out here, baby.”

“Yes, sleeping out here, don’t wanna get up.”

“The bears are gonna get you.”

“There’s not bears, you promised.”

“Fine, there’s no bears, but you’re gonna get cold.”

“Not if you stay.”

“I’ll give you a kiss if you stand up.”

“I’ll give you two kisses if you lay down.”

Kara paused, considering. “Three kisses if you come sleep in the tent.”

“... Damn. You got me there.” 

Lena groaned as she hauled herself up with Kara’s help. They stumbled over to the tent, giggling and shushing each other as they climbed into their nest. 

Lena took her place as little spoon against the outer edge. She pulled down her leggings under the covers, letting them bunch at her ankles. 

“What’re you doing?” Kara mouthed against her ear, the sound barely there. 

“Don’t want them,” Lena muttered just as quietly, snuggling into Kara and pulling her hand onto her ass. 

“You’re teasin’” Kara lipped, her cold hand running down Lena’s thigh and resting against her stomach, fingers splayed. 

“Not.” Lena ground back into her. 

“Are too,” Kara whispered, running her hand down Lena’s front, cupping at her over the thin layer of lace.

“Want that,” Lena whined, arching her back. 

Kara teased at her, feeling the heated moisture already there. She listened to the soft snores coming from the others in the tent, internally debating. There were only six of them in the ten-man space, but still… Sara was _ right there. _“...Have to be quiet.”

Lena bucked her hips into Kara’s hand, reaching behind her neck and craning to kiss Kara, getting her chin instead.

Kara nipped at her ear and shifted for more leverage, dipping inside. 

_______________

Morning came. Lena squinted against the sunlight and looked down at her leg exposed outside of the blankets. “Fuck,” she muttered, throwing the blanket back over her and sliding her pants back on. A quick survey over Kara’s back told her that they were alone and there were voices and movement from outside of the tent. 

“Kara,” she whispered, kissing the blonde awake. 

“No?” 

“Get up, I think everybody’s packing up.”

“Cool, less for us to do,” she mumbled, pulling Lena back down into her. 

“No, come on. Let’s go help.”

“Helping is the worst,” she groaned, sitting up and looking more than ruffled from the bed head, leaves still in her hair from the previous night. 

Lena picked them out and kissed her firmly. “Come on.” She stood and exited the tent, swaying slightly, possibly still a little drunk. 

The group group milled about, looking as haggard as Lena felt, but had blessedly already packed away the other tents and gotten most of the equipment back into the cars. From there, there wasn’t much left to do, but the pair did their part to pack up the remainder of camp. 

After double-checking that everything and everyone was accounted for, they piled into the vehicles and set back for National City. Lena sandwiched into the middle seat between Kara and Alex, once again drawing the short stick for being… well, the shortest. 

The drive was quiet, the group opting for silence to heal their shared hangovers. Within minutes, Kara had fallen back asleep, head lolling onto Lena’s shoulder. She slumped, trying to provide more comfort for the blonde. 

Sara caught a glimpse of them in the rear view mirror and turned in her seat giving Lena puppy dog eyes. “Aw, she’s all tuckered out. Guess that late night really wore her out.”

Heat crawled up the base of Lena’s neck, but her face remained neutral, very aware of the other Danvers on her immediate left. “Yeah, guess so,” she smiled down at Kara.

Sara pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of them, grinning at the result on her screen, “Cuuute,” she cooed.

Lena rolled her eyes at her and softened. “... Send me that. Please.”

“Sure thing, Lena,” Sara said smiling, turning back in her seat and pulling Ava’s hand into her lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and happy early Halloween!


	9. Chapter 9

Lena glanced up from her notes at the sound of her phone buzzing against the cafe table. 

** _[Kara 11:32 am]: _ ** _ hey _

** _[Kara 11:32 am]: _ ** _ just got out of practice _

** _[Kara 12:32 pm]: _ ** _ still want to meet me? _

** _[Lena 12:33 pm]: _ ** _ Yep:) meet you at our bench? 20 min? _

** _[Kara 12:34 pm]: _ ** _ see you there :) _

Lena stared down at the unfinished work in front of her and sighed. As the school year neared its end, her workload, on top of everything in her life, had her burning at both ends. She was typically on top of everything, but she just couldn’t wrap her head around her finals project for her computer systems class. Though she hadn’t gotten nearly as much done as she had hoped in her morning session, she supposed there would be time later. For now, she just wanted to enjoy a breezy Saturday afternoon with her girlfriend. She packed away her notes and ordered an extra coffee for the road. 

She had beat Kara to their favorite spot in the city, a waterfront boardwalk neighboring a small public park. She sat and took in the city skyline across the harbor, watching the joggers pass by with dogs and strollers, teens speeding around on bikes, and Sperry-footed men preparing for a day on the bay. She willed herself to relax, to forget about her anxieties around her workload for at least a few hours.

Kara appeared not long after her, still in her practice clothes, a cleat bag slung across her chest, and spinning a ball between her fingers as she walked. 

“Hey, Lena!”

Lena stood, tossing her now empty cup into the trash and falling in-step with Kara. “Hey, love. Good practice?” Lena asked as they strolled along the boardwalk, cutting into a path through the park. 

“Yeah, nothing crazy, but still fun. How about you? Finish up your project?” Kara asked, popping the ball into Lena’s hands. 

Lena caught the ball, feeling out the unfamiliar size and weight in her hands. “Um, eh. Basically.” 

“So, no then,” Kara said, leaping up onto a cement ledge and balance-beaming down it. “Well, are you sure you’re still okay to hang out? I don’t want to keep you from your stuff. School first and all that.”

Lena held her hand out for Kara to hold onto when she saw her stumble one too many times on the ledge. “Um, yeah. Yeah, It’ll be okay. I have until tomorrow night to get it submitted. Wanna spend the day with you.”

Kara hopped down and searched her eyes, narrowing. “If you say so.”

“I say so,” Lena smiled, pushing the ball playfully into Kara’s stomach. “What? You trying to get rid of me, Danvers?”

Kara grabbed at the ball, spinning it easily in front of her as they walked. “Never,” Kara smiled, nudging against her shoulder. Kara palmed the ball and ran a few steps forward, back-peddaling like a quarterback in the pocket, and tossing the ball to Lena over-hand. 

Lena caught the ball and smirked at her. “I think you’ve got the wrong sport, love.”

“Ah, so you’re an expert now, huh?” Kara shot back, walking backwards in front of her so they were still facing each other. 

“You’ve dragged me to enough games at this point, yeah, I’d like to think so.” Lena widened her eyes dramatically and pointed to the area behind Kara’s back. “Trashcan!”

Kara spun too fast in her attempt to swerve around the obstacle and stumbled into… nothing. She looked back to Lena who was holding in a laugh. “Oh, you got jokes?”

“I mean... you make it too easy,” Lena smirked. 

“Alright, alright, just know you have it coming, Luthor.” 

“Duly noted,” Lena nodded, lobbing the ball clumsily back to Kara.

Kara grinned and looked over at the open area where a few students were tossing frisbees around and laying across the grass. Her eyes darted to the ball in her hands and back to Lena. “Hey, wanna play around for a bit?”

Lena scrunched her face. “How are you not tired? Didn’t you _ just _ leave practice?” 

“What can I say? I’ve got stamina,” Kara winked. “Pleaseee?”

Lena craned her head back and forth and gave in, following Kara over and setting their bags next to the base of a tree. “Okay, but I’m not going to be very good,” she warned. 

“Impossible. You’re good at everything!” Kara assured, taking a few steps back and under-handed spiraling the ball perfectly into Lena’s waiting hands. “See? Just like that, easy peasy.”

Lena tested the ball out in her hands again and attempted to spin the ball back in a similar fashion, but instead it flailed end over end, hitting the ground too early and bouncing wildly off to the side. 

Kara chased after it smiling, scooping it up and spinning it between her fingers. “Here, watch. Hold it like this and use your back hand to rotate it around.” She exaggerated her movements this time so that Lena could see, the ball landing again right into Lena’s hands. 

Lena repeated the motions from Kara’s instructions, this time with worse results. 

_ Fuck, _she muttered under her breath as she watched Kara chase the ball down a slope. The blonde jogged back to her, slightly out of breath.

Lena frowned. “I told you it’s not my thing...”

“You’re learning!” Kara smiled. “Let me show you.” 

Kara placed the ball in Lena’s hands and stepped flush to her back, reaching around to set Lena’s hands properly, placing her own over the backs. She rotated the ball around in Lena’s grip, pivoting their bodies in a twisting motion. 

She lowered her voice, speaking gently over Lena’s shoulder. “See? Just use this hand to move the ball. This one’s really just a guide.” 

Lena glanced back over her shoulder, smirking. “Did you really just pull this move?”

Kara grinned innocently. “Some things are classic _ for a reason.” _ She took her hands off Lena’s and wrapped around her waist, pulling her tighter and kissing the space where Lena’s neck met her shoulder. She squeezed her fingertips into her sides before jogging a few meters away. “Okay, hit me!”

Determined, Lena repeated the twisting motion again while keeping the ball in her hands. She glanced up at Kara and nodded once, letting the ball fly. The spin on the ball was still shaky, but admittedly better. 

“Hey! There you go!” Kara cheered, catching the ball easily. “Nice one!”

They passed back and forth, Lena growing more comfortable each time. Seeing that Lena was settling in, Kara began increasing the distance between them and adding more flair into her movements. 

After a slightly wild throw, Kara dove into a catch, somersaulting out of it and thrusting the ball into the air triumphantly. 

“What do you think?” she yelled across the patch of grass. “Best hands or the greatest?”

Lena shook her head, smiling. “Nice catch, Danvers.”

Kara grinned and tucked the ball under her arm, jogging over to Lena, her face now sweaty and flushed. 

“You’re killing it, baby! We’re gonna have a new recruit at this rate,” she brightened with a punch to Lena’s bicep. “Ready to level up?”

“And that would be…?” Lena narrowed at her, skeptical of the mischievous glint in Kara’s eyes. 

“Contact!”

“I’m not going to hit you, Kara.”

“No, I’m going to hit you. Nicely. Super gently. Because I love you,” she added at the glare on Lena’s face. “See? Just like this.” She crouched low and wrapped her arms around Lena’s lower thighs, placing her head to the side of Lena’s hip. “Cheek to cheek,” she spoke against her. 

Lena laughed, standing straight and looking down at Kara’s hunched body. “Ah, so another thinly veiled excuse to grope me.”

“It’s not _ groping _. It’s tackling!” Kara said standing and flashing her teeth at Lena. 

“Sure, it is. No one you guys are so close,” Lena smirked. 

“Ah yes, nothing brings a team together quite like bruising each other up,” she said dreamily. “C’mon, I’ll show you. You trust me, right?” she asked, wiggling her brows and back-stepping. 

“Not when you have that face,” Lena laughed. 

“You trust me,” Kara grinned. She tossed the ball back to Lena, crouching low once more.

“...What do I do?” Lena asked.

“You come at me, bro,” she said, extending her arms to the side with spirit fingers. 

Lena rolled her eyes. “If I get hurt, you are in trouble.” 

“I would never!” Kara called back to her. 

Lena held the ball in both hands, huffed, and began jogging hesitantly at Kara. 

Right before they collided, Kara dropped low and scooped Lena’s legs, throwing her over her shoulder into a fireman’s carry, laughing gleefully as she ran them in circles. Lena dropped the ball and grasped desperately onto Kara’s torso, still hanging upside down. 

“_Kara!” _ she yelped. “_Down! _”

Kara obeyed, gently setting her down next to their bags and pulling her own bag under her head like a pillow. She belly laughed, eyes closed and catching her breath. 

“Ass,” Lena chided, lying back on her bag as well, and staring up at the tree cover. 

“Lena, I _ had _ to,” Kara chuckled. “Oh my god, your face!”

Lena glared back at her, pursing her lips.

“Aww, you’re fine,” Kara cooed, rolling over and kissing her, Lena intentionally not reciprocating. “Leeena,” she whined as she peppered her face. 

She pulled back to see Lena still attempting her pout. “Oh, so it’s like that?” Kara asked, still smiling. 

Kara shrugged. “Ok, then. I guess I have no choice here,” she supposed, before her eyes took on a dangerous spark and she dove in, tickling into Lena’s sides. 

Lena’s squealed as she tried to wriggle out of her grasp, laughing. “Okay! Okay! I give up! You can have your kiss! Stahp!”

Kara’s hands ceased immediately and she offered her cheek to Lena, tapping it twice with her fore finger, still grinning like an idiot. 

The corner of Lena’s mouth upturned and she leant up slowly, holding the other side of Kara’s head and pressing a slow, soft kiss to Kara’s cheek. 

Kara’s grin stretched impossibly wider, clearly appeased. 

Lena shook her head at her, locking her fingers behind her head and lying back, closing her eyes and relaxing on the ground. She heard Kara shuffle over to her side and they cooled off in the shade. 

“Hmm, so what d’you wanna do today?” Kara mumbled. 

“Do _ you _count?”

“Excuse you, I’m a lady. Take me to dinner first.”

“That could be arranged,” Lena smiled.

“Ooo whatcha thinking? Big Belly Burger?”

“No burgers.”

“Pizza?”

“Ehhh…”

“Chinese!”

“We’ve already done that three times this week.”

“That’s because it’s objectively the best type of food.”

“Highly debatable.”

“You’re highly debatable.”

“You’re a child.”

“Yeah, but you like me anyways.”

“I do, unfortunately.” Lena rolled onto her elbow and looked down at Kara. “Okay, how about this: We head back to my place and get cleaned up. You come to the farmer’s market with me and learn what vegetables look like. I’ll cook us something that hasn’t been deep fried, and in return, you can pick the movie tonight.”

Kara grinned, peeking an eye open. “That depends. Will there or will there not be pants involved?”

“Hmmm, 30% of the time,” Lena considered seriously. 

“You drive a hard bargain.” Kara popped up, holding her hand out for Lena to take. “But you’ve got yourself a deal,” Kara said, yanking Lena up from the ground. 

Lena used her momentum to tip up and connect their lips. “Mm, I may just be a Luthor afterall.”

_______________

Lena spread a variety of ingredients across the counter as Kara sat on a barstool across from her. 

“Sooo, why didn’t I know you could cook? This seems like essential information,” Kara asked, watching Lena pull out a variety of utensils and spices. 

“You’ve seen me cook.”

“No, I’ve seen you make eggs and, like, sandwiches. This seems a lot more… _ involved.” _

Lena shrugged. “I guess I haven’t really had the time lately. Schools been crazy, Alex has me in the lab more this semester… and _ somebody _ has been taking up all of my free time.”

“I feel honored, then,” Kara smiled as Lena pulled out a large mixing bowl and began measuring flour into it. “Speaking of taking up all of your free time. I’ve been meaning to ask you. We have our annual alumni game coming up. There’s a banquet afterwards, and I was wondering if maybe you’d be my date?”

Lena smiled at the uncertainty in her voice. “I would love to be your date. Just let me know the details so I can make sure I’m free?”

“Sweet! Sure thing! Exciting!”

“Very,” Lena laughed tipping a bit of salt into the mix. “So, does this mean I’ll finally get to see what a fancy Kara Danvers entails?”

“Oh definitely. I’ll pull out all of the stops, just for you,” Kara winked. 

“Looking forward to it, love.” Lena grabbed a carton of eggs from the fridge and returned to her station.

“Me too! Especially now that I’ll have the prettiest date there. So whatcha making?” Kara asked, leaning forward in her stool.

“Grilled chicken with a lemon and butter garlic sauce over some roasted asparagus and homemade pasta. And rolls, but I’m going to cheat on those,” she said pointing to the bag behind her.

“_Daamn_, Lena! Look at you go!”

She chuckled. “Don’t get too excited yet, I’ve only tried it a couple of times, so it could be garbage in the end. Back up plan is ordering in some pizza.”

“Hey, think about who you’re talking to. I’m sure I’ll love it... Where did you learn to cook like this?”

Lena paused. “Oh, um, Jack taught me actually…”

“Oh! Neat, yeah, that’s cool!” 

“Yeah…” Lena gave her an apologetic half-smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

“No no no! It’s cool. We both have our pasts, Lena, no worries... Um, do you think… do you think you could teach me? Is that weird?”

Lena waved her off, shaking her head. She looked up smiling. “No, it’s not weird. I’d love to teach you. I can pay you back for the rugby lesson this afternoon.”

“Dope!” Kara slid off of the stool and walked around the counter to stand next to Lena, reaching down to run her thumb along the inside of the waistband of Lena’s underwear and palm her. “So, what’s first?”

“First, you wash your hands.” Lena said with a raised brow and a nod towards the sink. “And then, we’re going to find out if you can crack an egg.”

Kara ran her hands under the faucet, grinning. “That, I can handle.”

“Ok then, three eggs into that bowl please,” Lena instructed, watching Kara carefully crack the eggs into the bowl, her tongue poking out in concentration. “Alright, want to get your hands dirty?”

“Always,” Kara winked. 

“You’re the worst,” Lena eye rolled. “Alright, take a fork and whisk that until it gets too thick. Then sprinkle some flour on the counter top and knead it into a ball for me.”

While Kara worked, Lena coated the asparagus in an oil and seasoning, spreading them across a cookie sheet and popping them into the oven. She returned to inspect Kara’s work. 

“Hmm, yeah that’s okay, but you really want to do it like this,” Lena said she stepped flush behind Kara, wrapping her arms around and placing her hands over Kara’s as Kara had done to her. 

“Funny,” Kara drawled, 

“Some things are a classic for a reason, right?” 

Kara rolled her eyes smudging some loose flour on Lena’s nose.

Lena raised her eyebrows and reached a fist into the pile of flour, ready to attack.

Kara stepped away and pointed a finger at her with a warning look. “Think about what you’re about to start. Think about it.”

Lena narrowed her eyes at Kara. “Fine,” she said wiping her hands off on a towel, adding a _but_ _you started it_ under her breath. 

“Ok, I think I got it!” Kara said holding her dough ball up proudly. 

“You did,” Lena smirked. “Ok, wrap that in some cellophane and let it sit in the fridge. And grab the chicken out while you’re there, please!” 

They chatted as Lena sliced the chicken and set it to the side. 

“So now we have some time to kill, yeah?” Kara asked, stepping into Lena’s space.

“Just a little bit,” Lena smiled, pressing forward into Kara. 

“I can work with that,” Kara mumbled, using her still flour-dusted finger to tip Lena’s chin upwards. She captured Lena’s bottom lip between her own, biting lightly. 

Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist, pushing up onto her toes for better leverage to move against her. 

When Kara scooped her up by the thighs and set her on a clean-ish area of the counter, Lena put a stop to it. “Kara! Cold!” she laughed, hopping off the counter. “And unsanitary,” she added with a glare, wiping at her legs. 

“Oh, because I’m so scared of your germs.” Kara shrugged, grinning.

“It’s the principle,” Lena scolded, though matching her grin. “Alright, ready to show me how big and strong you are?”

Kara responded with a salute and an exaggerated flex of her bicep. 

Lena rolled her eyes and took the dough from the fridge, cutting it into sections and handing Kara a bottle of wine. “Get to rolling. Nice and thin.”

Kara nodded seriously as Lena sprinkled some more flour onto the countertop for her. Kara coated the bottle in flour and rolled away, arms straining in the effort. Lena pulled a second bottle of wine from the rack and opened it, sipping from a glass as she watched. 

“You’re not gonna show me how it’s done?” Kara grunted, flattening out the dough. 

Lena swirled the wine around her glass and took a sip, winking at Kara. “You look like you got it covered, love.”

Kara smirked back at her, putting a little more show into her work. She grabbed at the circle of dough and tested the weight in her fingers. “Hey Lena, check this out,” she said as she tossed the dough up, letting it spin around before cradling it back onto her fingers. She looked back to Lena and cheered, her eyes lighting up, clearly surprised at her own success. She successfully tossed the dough a few more times, getting more confident as she threw in some fancier maneuvers. 

“Alright, alright, I get it, you’re very talented,” Lena chuckled when Kara pulled off a toss, 360-ing her body around before catching it. “Let’s get these sliced up and we’ll be ready to go.”

They moved easily around each other in the kitchen, boiling the pasta, searing the chicken, and mixing together the butter sauce. Kara taught herself to flip the ingredients around the skillet and before too long they had two plated meals and glasses of wine ready at the table, Kara’s piled considerably higher than Lena’s. 

Lena watched apprehensively as Kara took the first bite. Kara chewed slowly and blinked several times. 

“Okay,” she said around a full bite. “First of all, what in the actual fuck? Second of all, how _ dare _ you hold out on me like this?”

Lena grinned. “It’s okay?”

“Lena, it’s fucking _ good. _ Like… not even I’m-just-being-nice-to-my-girlfriend-to-get-laid good, like... I’d-do-a-lot-of-dirty-things-for-more-of-this kind of good.”

“High praise, I think?” 

“Very high praise, baby. Really, so good.”

“Well, you helped the whole way… but thank you,” Lena smiled, taking her own bite and pleased to find that maybe Kara wasn’t exaggerating after all.

Dinner conversation was rather limited, as Kara was fully dedicated to making herself sick on pasta. 

She waddled over to the couch, collapsing horizontally and pulling a throw blanket around herself. “Lena,” she groaned painfully. “This is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

“Yeah, you sound _ super _ happy,” she drawled, piling the dishes into the sink to be dealt with later. 

Lena grabbed their glasses and another bottle of wine to be at the ready and settled at the opposite end of the couch. As she was pulling Kara’s feet into her lap, she looked over to see Kara pouting at her.

Lena raised her brows at her, “What’s wrong?”

“You’re so far away,” Kara sulked, patting the space behind her. 

“Kara, I know you. I’m going to come over there and try to cuddle and then you’re going to whine that I’m pushing the food out of your belly.”

“Will not,” Kara argued masterfully. 

Lena rolled her eyes and crawled over, trying her best to give Kara her space. She let Kara drape an arm around her waist, not pulling too hard, and snatched the remote from the coffee table. She placed it in Kara’s hand.

“Your movie choice, as promised.”

“Mm, thanks,” Kara mumbled. “I’ve narrowed it down. Whatcha think? Horror or Sc-ifi?”

“I think you’re going to be asleep in thirty minutes, so it doesn’t really matter anyways.”

“Bet you I won’t.”

“Mhmm. Loser does the dishes tomorrow... _ All _of the dishes,” Lena clarified.

“You’re on.”

Kara _ did _ technically make it the thirty minutes, but still not the entire movie. When Lena heard soft snores in her ear, she gently extricated herself and peered down at the sleeping blonde, smiling. 

She glanced around the apartment, eyes falling on her backpack waiting next to her desk. Sighing, she fired up her laptop and picked back up where she’d left off that morning, settling in for another late night. 

_______________

The next evening, the two were deep into a study binge, Kara swearing that she would be too distracted at her own house. 

Lena huffed, repeatedly slamming down the backspace key of her laptop until the formula cell was empty. 

Kara looked up from where she was perched on the couch, typing away at her term paper. “All good over there?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yep,” Lena clipped, staring a hole into her screen. She’d been at it for hours, but had hit a wall and nothing seemed to be making any sense anymore. She rubbed a hard line across her forehead and down her temple. 

She checked the clock and noted the dwindling hours before her deadline. Taking what she’d hoped would be a cleansing breath, she started fresh, rearranging some of her data in an attempt to come at the problem from a different angle. 

Just as she felt like she had cracked it, her excel screen went white and closed itself out. 

“Fuck!” Lena yelled, slamming her fist against the desktop. 

Kara’s head darted in Lena’s directed. She hopped up and stood over Lena’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” she asked, placing a hand at Lena’s back. 

“Maybe I _ would _be if this piece of shit would stop crashing!”

Kara soothed her hand over Lena’s shoulders. “Well... it’ll be okay. When’s the last time you saved?”

Lena clenched her jaw. “I. Don’t. Know.”

“You’ll get it back,” she assured, leaning in to kiss Lena’s cheek and squeeze around her. “You’re super smart, baby. Just have to pick back up where it left off.”

“Yes, I _ know that, _ Kara.”

Kara paused, but stayed close, rubbing down Lena’s biceps. “Okay, let’s take a break. Come lay with me on the couch while this restarts.” 

Kara tugged at her hand but Lena pulled it away with a shake of her head. “I can’t afford to take a break. I only have a few hours left before the cut-off.”

“C’mon, sweetie... Just a few minutes and you’ll be all better,” Kara purred, nibbling her ear.

Lena jerked away, pushing the blonde off of her. “ I said _ no, Kara! _ I’ve already wasted too much time this weekend! _ ” _

She regretted her words the instant they left her mouth. But Kara _ knew. _ She knew that Lena was stressed about this deadline and why couldn’t she just let it go?

Kara stood up straight, eyes wide as though she’d been slapped. “Got it,” she mumbled, shuffling back to the couch with her tail between her legs. 

Lena’s stomach dropped as she watched her go. She sighed, digging her palms into her cheekbones. “...Kara — I didn’t —”

“It’s okay, you’re busy,” Kara rushed out, giving her a half-smile and pulling her computer back into her lap, though her hands remained still. 

Lena turned in her chair, surveying the blonde and fighting the urge to follow after her. _ Fuck _, she really did need to get this done, though. 

Kara knew that. 

Kara would understand. 

Resigned, Lena reopened her file. 

As she worked, she was all too aware that Kara had still not moved. She had a far off look, just sitting there, tense, her laptop long asleep. 

Eventually Lena saw her get up out of the corner of her eye. They locked eyes, both unsure how to break the silence. 

Kara rubbed at the back of her neck and glanced around, downcast. “I’m, uh, pretty tired. Okay, if I crash out?”

Lena gave her an apologetic look, furrowing her brows. “Yeah… of course,” she said quietly, watching as Kara nodded once and turned towards the bedroom.

“Kara?” Lena called to her just as Kara was about to close the door behind her. 

Kara looked up from the doorway and offered her a small smile, “Goodnight, Lena.”

The soft click of the door was deafening. She stared at the place where Kara had just been and kicked herself for letting the pressure get to her. God, she was an asshole.

Granted, she looked back over her work and was somewhat satisfied with the progress that she’d made since her outburst. She’d get this done quickly and fix things with Kara afterwards. 

She was almost there. 

She could do both. 

She could. 

A little over an hour later, everything seemed to be in order. She rubbed at tired eyes and booted down, readying her things for class the next day. She looked to her bedroom door and took a deep breath, stepping forward. 

Easing the door open as quietly as possible, she tiptoed around the dark room. From the moonlight filtering in through the window, she could make out the shape of Kara curled around a pillow on the edge of the bed. 

“Kara? You awake?” she whispered.

No reply came. 

Lena stripped off her sweatpants and slid into the other side, still moving as quietly and as gently as possible, and maintaining a buffer between them. 

Kara shifted away, turning to face outwards.

Lena took the hint and kept to her side, staring up at the ceiling and regretting every stupid decision she’d made that night. 

Kara hadn’t done anything wrong. Of course, she hadn’t… She just wanted to put Lena at ease and Lena had bitten her head off for it. 

Tomorrow, she’d fix it. For now, she was just happy to have Kara close, thankful that she had decided to stay. Part of Lena wasn’t sure if she would have done the same, but the other part of her knew that she’d always want to keep Kara close to her, even if they _ were _ upset with each other. 

_______________

Lena woke to her arm being lifted gently and sheets rustling beside her. 

It had appeared that sometime in the night, she had rolled over to Kara’s back and tucked against her, draping an arm over Kara’s middle and burrowing her face into her hair. 

Kara sat up from the bed and was in the middle of pulling her socks and joggers back on. 

“Kara?” Lena grumbled, still half asleep.

The blonde turned back to her whispering. “Hey, I need to get going for class.”

Lena reached back for her phone on the bedside table behind her and checked the time, a little after nine. _ A lie. _Kara’s classes didn’t start until the afternoon that day. 

Lena rolled back and slid her hand over Kara’s on the sheets. “Please, will you stay?... Kara, I’m sorry...”

Kara stared back, several emotions running across her face, looking like she was about to flee, before she settled on a hint of a frown. 

“No, I’m sorry, I should have given you your space… You were stressed and I wasn’t helping.”

Lena grimaced. “Please don’t apologize to me. I don’t deserve that. Come here? Please?” 

Kara looked to the door and back to Lena, resigned. She pulled the covers back and slid in, facing Lena. 

Lena reached out to cup her neck, her thumb running over the line of Kara’s jaw. She spoke low, solemnly. 

“I’m so sorry that I snapped at you, sweetheart. And that I made you feel unwanted, when I would have loved nothing more than to lay on the couch with you. Time with you is never a waste. I don’t know why I said that… I was an ass. I’ve just been so frustrated and instead of dealing with that on my own, I took it out on you, and you didn’t deserve that. It won’t happen again, I promise. I love you so much and I’m so sorry.” Her eyes searched Kara’s, hoping to convey everything that her words couldn’t. 

A slow, but sad smile spread across Kara’s face. She snaked her hand under the covers to rest on Lena’s hip. 

“I love you too, but I don’t _want_ you to have to deal with things on your own. I’m here for you. You can lean on me, but I’m not your punching bag. It’s okay to be frustrated. You’re _going_ _to be_ frustrated, but… just... talk to me when it’s too much?”

“I will,” Lena said, barely audible. 

“I hope you do,” Kara whispered back, tipping forward to press her lips softly to Lena’s. She laid her head on Lena’s pillow and held her close. “Now, do you want to tell me what’s really been bothering you?”

Lena stared back, her lips pursuing lightly. “I just…”

Kara reached up to swipe her hair back from her face, but giving her time.

“I just… I’ve always had this weight on me. I, um, I used to blame my family. My mother, my brother for putting unfair expectations on me. To perform, to succeed, to be… perfect… and when that doesn’t happen… I just feel… _ useless. _ I was upset because I felt like I was letting _ myself _ down. God, that sounds so stupid to say it out loud.”

Kara knit her brows. 

“Sweetheart… it’s not stupid. Your feelings aren’t stupid. I get it. I absolutely get it. You think I don’t know about family pressure?” She chuckled humorlessly. “Look at my mom. Look at my _ sister _ . They’ve accomplished so much already and what am I doing? Dicking off with my rugby team. I mean, I’m still undecided on my major! I’m going to graduate soon and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life. You think I don't know about pressure? Even _ you _, Lena!”

Lena frowned at her. “I pressure you?” she asked quietly.

Kara shrugged and continued stroking across her cheek.

“I mean, yeah… You're this incredibly talented, genius, _ gorgeous _ person who is going to leave this place and change the world and you think that doesn't intimidate me? Doesn’t make me want to be better for you?”

Kara’s lips trembled as she continued. “ Sometimes I don't even know what you're doing with someone like me... I'm just -- I'm so grateful that you are. That’s why what you said yesterday really sucked… It was another reminder that I feel like I need to enjoy this as much as possible before you wake up and realize that you’re sick of me… that you _ downgraded _…” she wobbled, letting Lena go and burying her face into the pillow.

“Kara…” Lena tried, using her fingernails to scrape back at Kara’s temples, coaxing her to look back at her. When she did, the blonde’s eyes rimmed red. 

“Kara... come here,” Lena urged, pulling Kara to rest against her chest. She tucked Kara’s head under her chin and combed her fingers through her hair. She kissed the crown of her head, feeling her t-shirt dampen. “In no universe are you a downgrade. Not one. You are more than enough to me. If I have to spend the rest of my life convincing you of that, then I will. I love you so much,” she said, feeling Kara begin to shake against her. 

They laid there, Lena holding her tightly, as though to reassure her that she wasn’t going anywhere. She murmured nothings against her ear until Kara’s breathing settled. 

It wasn’t until Kara’s stomach rumbled that she tipped her head up to look at Lena.

“Hi,” Lena breathed, concern still in her eyes. 

“Hi,” Kara whispered. “I, um, I need food.”

“Don’t you always?” Lena quipped, wiping at Kara’s eyes. 

“Fair,” Kara chuckled wetly. 

“I love you,” Lena repeatedly softly, combing back blonde hair.

“Love you too,” Kara parroted, kissing her chin.

“How does a shower sound, love? And then we can go get as many apology pancakes as you can eat, on me.”

Kara ran a hand over her hair. “Oh god, yeah, I must be a mess right now.” 

“Eh, about the same as normal,” Lena smirked.

Kara laughed genuinely. She rolled out of the bed, stripping off her shirt and tossing it at Lena, hitting her square in the face. “For that, you’re throwing in a cinnamon roll.”

Lena threw the shirt to the foot of the bed and climbed after her. She caught Kara by the waist as she walked to the bathroom and kissed her bare shoulder. “Help me out of these clothes and I’ll make it two extra.”

“Ugh, I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. So much.”

Kara smiled. “Okay, no more being sad. Let’s have a good day, ‘kay?”

“Anything.” 

Kara grinned and scanned down Lena’s body. “So, uhhh, what were you saying about these clothes?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, okay one more chapter! 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me on this thing and have a good day, buds.


	10. Chapter 10

“You’re taking forever!” Alex moaned from the other side of the curtain. 

“Relax, I think this is the one.” 

Lena surveyed herself in the mirror. She’d already torn through most of the dresses at the upscale boutique, but this one felt right and she looked  _ good. _ Black lace hugged in all the right places. 

She pulled the partition to the side and stepped out, spinning once and extending her arms palms up, silently seeking Alex’s approval. 

Alex’s eyes widened slightly as she took her in. “ _ Damn _ … but no.” 

Lena’s face fell and she turned back to the mirror, trying to find the flaw. She smoothed out the fabric and cocked her head to the side. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing technically. Look, I mean this in the most platonic way -- you look like a goddamn smoke show in that.” Alex paused. “But you also look like you’re 30. And you’re going to a college rugby banquet, not a red carpet.”

Lena scrunched her face. “So, you’re saying you want me to look… worse?”

“Not my words, but yeah, kinda,” she shrugged. 

“Ugh, why did I even bring you?” Lena groaned, closing the curtain behind her and changing back to her street clothes.

“That’s what I asked you  _ two hours ago!” _ Alex called. 

“Because I need help apparently!” Lena exasperated. “Besides, don’t pretend like you don’t secretly enjoy this even a little. You  _ could have  _ said no.”

“What I’ll  _ enjoy _ is the free drinks that you promised me afterwards.”

Lena opened the curtain, back in her jeans and tee and leveled a glare at her. “The sooner you help me find a dress, the sooner we can go drink.”

“All the motivation I need,” Alex grinned. “... Look, it’s not you, it’s this store. Too uppity.”

“Kara said fancy!”

“Kara is liar. Come on, I know a place,” she said waving Lena after her. 

They walked a few blocks into familiar territory. Alex pulled at a glass door to a small shop that Lena must have walked past a hundred times that year but never noticed. 

“Alex, what the fuck? This is like a block from my place! Why didn’t we  _ start _ here?”

“I thought you knew what you were doing!” Alex defended, rifling through the racks and pulling a few choices in Lena’s size. “Here. Try these,” she said as she thrusted a handful of hangers into Lena’s grip.

Lena huffed, eyeing the stack skeptically, and stalked off to the dressing rooms. 

She vetoed two right off the bat for the color alone, but stopped at the third -- a deep-necked red number with an understated white floral print that she never would have selected but was admittedly more suited to the season and looked good on the hanger at least. 

She stripped down and contorted her arms behind her to wrestle the zipper up her back. She stepped back out and raised a brow at Alex.

“Ayeee, there we go! Get that one.”

Lena narrowed her eyes. “... You’re not just saying that so we can go drink?”

“Mayyybe.”

“Alex, I swear to God.” 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Seriously, you look good. Kara will love it.”

Lena appraised herself for the umpteenth time that day. Maybe Alex had a point. 

The new dress was just the right amount of flashy without being over-the-top. Soft red fabric stretched snuggly, but not uncomfortably, around her hips and torso, giving her a defined shape. The neckline both accentuated her collarbones and flattered her chest. Even the hemline felt right, falling just above her knees, still showing off her legs without being indecent for a formal function. 

“Okay, yeah. Yeah, I like it,” Lena grinned. “Who knew Alex Danvers had taste?”

“See? This is why I should be in charge of things always,” Alex smirked. “Soooo bar time?”

“Bar time,” Lena agreed. “Just let me see if I can find some shoes to match and I’ll go check out.”

“Hell yeah, I’ll be up front,” Alex cheered, walking off. 

Bags in hand, they strolled down to their usual post-work spot. Alex lifted herself onto a stool while Lena opened a tab. She returned with two dark pints minutes later, sliding one to Alex. 

They raised their glasses. 

“To... another year of prolonging real adulthood.”

“To our livers, may they always be stronger than our lack of self control.”

Clink. 

The sun set as they emptied glass after glass, talking about this or that, gossiping about the friend group, or just debating inconsequential things. 

Feeling light, Lena took a sip and smirked over the rim of her glass. “So, how does it feel to pick out the dress that your sister is going to rip off of me this weekend?”

“Get wrecked, Luthor.”

“I will when I see your sister later.”

“Spare me,” Alex glared. 

“She always does, eventually.” 

“That one didn’t even make sense.”

“... fine. So how’s everything been going with you? Still seeing that vet?”

“I... am not,” Alex said, spinning the bottom of her glass around the table.

“Aw, no. I liked her! What happened?”

Alex stared into her glass and raised her brows. “I’m doomed to be single for the rest of my life is what happened.”

“That’s definitely maybe not true.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy.”

“Anytime,” Lena smirked. “But seriously, do you want to talk about it?”

“That’s not a thing that I do.”

“Very healthy of you, as always…” Lena eye-rolled. She glanced back at the open felt table behind Alex. “Well, in that case, would me beating you in a game of pool cheer you up?”

“That’s cute,” Alex grinned, nodding. “What am I? I forget. 4-0… five and oh?”

“How do you know I’m not just sharking you?” Lena challenged.

“Because you’re too competitive for that  _ and _ you pout way too much when you lose.”

“That’s not even true,” Lena glowered, setting her pint down heavily. 

“Is so,” Alex laughed. “You spend too much time around Kara, she’s rubbing off on you.”

“Yeah, she is,” Lena smirked.

“Goddamnit.”

“That one was on you,” Lena said holding her hands up.

“Whatever.” Alex killed the rest of her beer and slapped her palms against the table. “Alright, you’re on, twenty bucks.”

“You have a problem,” Lena laughed, knowing that Alex wouldn’t be able to resist. 

“Yeah, yeah, add it to the list,” Alex grumbled, stumbling off to rack the balls.

Lena ordered them another round and followed after her, grinning to herself because truth be told, she  _ had _ been sharking Alex. As if she didn’t grow up with a pool table at the Luthor mansion, please. 

_______________

The day of the alumni game arrived before they knew it. The underclassmen were tasked with facilitating set-up and take-down for the weekend, freeing Kara from her usual obligations.

“Excited to see everybody?” Lena asked as they drove to the fields. 

“I am!” Kara smiled, squeezing Lena’s thigh. “We all keep up with each other on the group chats, but it’s way better when we can all get together.”

“Definitely,” Lena agreed. “Is it going to be a big group?”

“Um, decent-ish. Some of the older alumni start dropping off after a while, but most of the girls that I played with when I first started out are coming in for the weekend. Which is especially exciting because they gave me so much shit when I first started out, but I’ve gotten a lot better since then. Revenge time.”

Lena chuckled, staring out the window. “I can’t imagine you ever being bad.”

“Oh, I definitely was. You’ve only seen me after years of playing, but, hey, everybody’s gotta start somewhere, right?” Kara shrugged as they pulled into the lot. 

“Very true. Alright, you ready?” Lena asked, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car. 

“Yeah, hey wait!” Kara called at her back, leaning over the center console. 

“What’s up?” Lena asked, ducking her head back in.

“I need my luck.”

Lena rolled her eyes and leant over, giving her a quick kiss. “Better?”

“Better,” Kara grinned. 

“Let’s go, dork, we’re already late.”

Kara grabbed her cleat bag from the back seat and they walked over to the fields hand-in-hand. 

“I’m going to go find Alex, ‘kay?” Lena asked when they got to the field, gesturing up to the stands. 

Kara pulled her back to her when Lena took a step away. “No, have her come find us! There’s a little meet up on the field before the game starts. Just a few beers a chance for everybody to say hi before we start playing.”

“Oh okay, lemme text her,” Lena said following Kara onto the grass and pulling her phone from her pocket. 

A crowd of women of all ages were scattered around a few coolers by the sidelines. Kara fished out a couple cans from the ice and handed one to Lena, popping her own open, as they mingled for a bit with the other players. 

Alex joined them as Kara was catching up with a stern-faced woman named Vasquez.

“So, what have you been up to?” Kara asked. “It feels like you dropped off the face of the planet since you graduated!”

“Not quite,” the woman laughed. “I’ve been around, just off the grid for a while for trainings with this new job,” she waved vaguely. “They’ve had me all over the place. Check it out, Panama last week,” she said, showing Kara a picture on her phone. 

“This is so badass!”

A voice called out from behind them. “ _ Ho-ly shit! Is that THE Kara Danvers?” _

Kara turned at her name. “Sam!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the girl and squeezing tight. 

As Kara was talking animatedly with an olive-skinned girl that further confirmed Lena’s theory that this team was recruiting from some secret club of the world’s most beautiful people, Vasquez turned to her and Alex. 

“Hey, I’ve got to go boot up. I’ll catch y’all later,” she said with a jerk of her head. 

The pair nodded in acknowledgment and returned their attention to Kara and Sam off to the side. Lena turned to Alex muttering under her breath, “ _ How? _ How are they all so fucking hot?” 

“Don’t know, don’t care. Why else do you think I come to these things?” she hushed, smoothing over her hair and watching the girl talking to Kara. 

Now that Lena looked at her properly, Alex  _ did _ seem to be more put together than normal, a non-wrinkled shirt, her brows perfectly sculpted, and was she wearing lipstick? 

Just as Lena was about to tease her about it, Alex swatter her. “Shh, they’re coming.”

“Hey, Alex,” Sam smiled, her eyes glinting and sliding a hand down Alex’s bicep. “It’s been a while.”

“Uh, y-yeah, sure has,” Alex stammered. “Good to see you, Sam”

Lena and Kara locked eyes and shared a look.

“So  _ anyways _ , Lena, this is Sam. Sam, this is my girlfriend, Lena,” she said beaming proudly. 

“Good for you, Sunshine,” Sam smiled, extending her hand out to Lena. “Nice to meet you, Lena.”

“And you,” Lena replied politely. “I’m guessing you’re an old teammate?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say  _ old _ , but yeah, we used to play together back in the day,” Sam laughed. 

“Sam’s literally the best,” Kara radiated, staring fondly at the older girl. “I came out for the team on a whim and had no idea what I was doing freshman year, but Sam took me under her wing my first week and taught me everything I know!” 

“That’s right,” Sam grinned. “And I’ll be glad to remind you of that out on the pitch in a few.”

Kara snorted and crossed her arms. “Yeah, ookay.”

Sam smirked at her, cocking her head to the side. “Wow, a couple years away and suddenly someone thinks they’re tough shit. What happened to the freshman that said things like ‘golly’ and apologized after tackling anyone?”

Alex laughed a touch too loud next to Lena.

“Oh, I got over that. Trust,” Kara advised with a wide smile. 

Sam raised a brow and nodded. “Go ahead and be as cocky as you want to right now, but just because I graduated doesn’t mean I lost my edge, Danvers.”

“It  _ kiind _ -of means that,” Kara shot back, nodding her head side to side.

Alex scoffed. “Pshh, no way. My money’s on Sam all day. I’ll put twenty —”

“Don’t,” Lena cut her off. 

Sam smirked at the red head, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Well at least I have  _ one _ Danvers on my side.”

“Ha, well, yeah. _ Kara _ may have forgotten how you used to play, but I didn’t,” Alex shrugged, refusing to look at Sam in their new close proximity, her face hinting pink.

“And for that, your next round of free beer is on me,” Sam said flashing her a smile and a wink. “Come on, I need at least one in me before we get started.” 

Alex mumbled something they didn’t catch as they left. 

Lena laughed as she watched them go. She turned to Kara and shot her a knowing look. “Oh my god, so gay.”

“Dude, no joke.” Kara said as she took a swig of her beer. “Too bad Alex will never actually do anything about it.”

“I think Sam may have it covered for the two of them,” Lena laughed. She pulled Kara in by the waist, “I’m just glad she has her sights set on Danvers Senior.”

Kara scoffed, “Oh please.”

Lena increased the pitch of her voice, pretending to fawn over Kara. “ _ Sam’s the best! Sam taught me everything I know! Ooo Sam!” _

“She was just my mentor!”

“Ooo, a little student-teacher thing going on, huh?” Lena said poking into her side. 

“Alright, alright, don’t make it weird,” Kara laughed, pushing at her shoulder. “Fine, I mayyy or may not have had a crush on her when I started out, but that’s long over, promise.”

“Just teasing you, love,” Lena murmured, pressing her lips to Kara’s cheek. She used the distraction to snag the beer out of Kara’s hand and take a long sip. 

Kara rolled her eyes, but smiled at the contact. “I was going to give that to you anyways.”

“Sure you were.”

Kara glanced around at the thinning crowd along the sidelines. “Okay, looks like people are starting to warm up. I’m going to go boot up, but I’ll come find you after the game?”

“I would hope so, you’re my ride.” 

“ _ Yeah _ , I am.”

“Go,” Lena grinned, pushing her away. 

Kara shot one last smirk over her shoulder before she met the rest of the team over at the bench. 

Lena found Alex over by the coolers and dragged her up to the stands, each of them juggling armfulls of cans.

Once they were out of ear shot, Lena grinned at Alex. “Sooo, Sam, huh?”

“Not another word,” Alex glared at her before breaking into a grin. “ _ S’nothing _ ,” she mumbled under her breath. 

“Mhmm,” Lena hummed. 

“Anyyways...Whew, here we go. Last game of the year,” Alex blew out, plopping down on the metal bench and clinking her can against Lena’s. 

The NCU players lined up in their normal white and blue striped kits, while the alumni dawned some faded navy jerseys that Lena hadn’t seen before.

Brainy and James joined them just before kick-off, taking the seats behind them.

When the year started, Lena couldn’t have imagined that this would be her idea of a good time on a Saturday afternoon, but she had come to look forward to the matches and seeing her friends. No longer feeling like they were “Kara’s friends”, but her own as well. They fell into their usual routine of drinking, cheering on the team, and teasing one another as the game carried on in front of them.

The exhibition match ended on a high note, or a low, she supposed, depending on who they were rooting for. Lucy had knocked the ball forward in her attempt to catch a pass from Sara, resulting in a scrum to the alumni on the far side of the pitch. 

Sam recovered the ball and walked over to the side of the forming scrum, Kara crouched low at her side, ready to attack as soon as Sam picked up the ball from the back of the scrum. 

The match official called out to the teams  _ Crouch, Bind, Set! _ And the players began driving against each other. 

Sam scooped the ball fluidly, but instead of sending it out to her backs, she cradled it into her arm and sprinted forward. 

She broke past the remaining defenders, most of the NCU players still trying to break loose from the scrum or otherwise out of position, but Kara was hot on her tail. 

Sam crossed the 22m line, nearing the try line. 

Kara had all but closed the distance, but at the last moment tripped up on her own feet and flew forward. She caught herself, her hands flying in front of her and belly-sliding across the grass as she watched Sam take in the final try of the game. 

Sam placed the ball down into the corner of the try zone and helped Kara up from the ground, giving her a hug before jogging over to her teammates and celebrating. 

The official allowed the conversion kick attempt before calling for the end of the match. 

The NCU players, all smiles, lined up in two parallel lines and formed a tunnel for the alumni to run through as they slapped hands. 

The group in the stands packed up their trash and made their way down to the fields. 

“We’re going to go find the girls, but we’ll see you tonight?” James asked as they parted ways on the grass. 

“Yeah, see you then,” Lena said with a wave. She turned to Alex. “What about you? Need to go find your girlfriend?”

“Hilarious,” Alex drawled as she pushed Lena forward. 

Alex and Lena found Kara, Sara, and Ava sprawled out across the grass, pulling off their cleats and swinging their arms energetically as they talked. 

“Hey hey!” Sara called as they approached. “Lena, how does it feel to be with the most coordinated person alive?”

“There was a pothole in the field!” Kara exclaimed, throwing her shoe at Sara’s face, Sara catching it and tossing it back to her feet. Lena walked over and sat close to her, squeezing her knee in support.

“Right,” Sara snorted. “It’s all good, Danvers, we still won, thank  _ God _ . There’s  _ no way _ they would have let us live down losing to them.”

“Accurate,” Sam said as she walked up to the group. “You guys have gotten so good though! I’m proud of you,” she said with a pat to Kara’s shoulder. “Even you, Lance.” 

“Bless,” Sara said with exaggerated prayer hands. “Now I can die happy.” 

“Hey Sam,” Kara greeted, rolling her eyes at Sara. “Good game.”

“It was! Felt great to get back out there. You played great, Sunshine. Almost good enough to keep up,” she winked. 

“Dude! There was a pothole! I swear!”

“Mhmm, I saw it, totally,” Sam assured, nodding her head. 

“One day I’ll have real friends,” Kara mumbled. 

“Has she always been this whiny?” Sam asked Alex in a loud whisper. “I forget.”

“ _ So whiny _ ,” Alex agreed conspiratorily. “Always said that.”

“Whatever,” Kara huffed.

As the group continued talking amongst themselves, Lena shuffled closer, their thighs pressed together, and leaned into Kara’s ear. “You let her have that last try, huh?”

Kara pulled back grinning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The corner of Lena’s mouth pulled up at the corner. “Mhmm,” she hummed. 

Kara nudged her with her shoulder, still speaking low. “Thanks for coming today, baby.”

“Of course. You don’t have to thank me every time, you know? I actually like watching you play.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re great love… and it’s kinda hot.”

“Mm, speaking of kinda hot, I’m excited to show you off tonight,” Kara purred, nosing her neck and snaking her arm around Lena’s waist. 

“Hey, leave room for Jesus over there,” Alex called, bringing them out of their little bubble. 

“Go easy, she’s just trying to get laid. You should try it sometime, Big D,” Sara shot at her.

“ _ Sara _ ,” Ava chastised, Sara grinning unapologetically back at her.

Alex didn’t say anything, but her face grew red, whether from embarrassment or rage was unclear.

Lena snickered, patting Kara’s knee and changing the subject. “We were just talking about the banquet tonight.”

“Yeah, you’re going, right?” Kara asked Sam.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Sam nodded. “Although, I’m going to need y’all to cool it with being all cute and couple-y. Some of us don’t need to be reminded of our perpetual singledom.”

Sara eyes gleamed mischievously. “Speaking of perpetual singledom, Alex, what are you doing tonight?”

“Pushing it, Lance,” Alex warned.

“Ignore her,” Sam soothed, placing her hand over Alex’s forearm.

Alex smiled down at the point of contact and looked up sheepishly. “She, uh, she has a point though… I could go with you? If you wanted, no pressure.”

“Yeah?” Sam grinned. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Yeah, I mean. I don’t have anything else going on, and we’re uh, friends. It’ll be… fun?”

“Alright, yeah, if you’re sure. That’d be great,” Sam said quietly. “I’d really like that.”

Kara and Lena smirked at each other. Kara patted Lena’s thigh and hopped up. “Sweet, well that’s settled then. I think we’re gonna get out of here, but we’ll see you guys tonight.”

Lena waved goodbye and they grabbed Kara’s bag and walked back to the car. 

Kara recapped the highlights of the game all the way back to Lena’s building. She pulled up to the curb and shifted into park. 

“Alright, I’ll come pick you up a little before seven and we can walk over?” Kara asked, leaning over the console.

“Sounds good, love. I’ll see you then.”

_______________

Lena was well-accustomed at preparing for formal events. She could make herself presentable in thirty minutes flat, but she took her time tonight. 

An extra twenty minutes was spent in the shower, just letting the steaming water wash over her and taking special care with her razor. 

She let herself dry and cool down on the bed before smoothing her favorite scented lotion over her legs. 

She slipped into her dress and went to work flattening her hair before pinning it over one shoulder, accentuating her long neck and sharp jaw. 

She applied false lashes with a practiced hand.

She painted her face with adept precision.

Just as she was applying the finishing touches, she heard Kara unlock the door and let herself in. 

“Lena?” she called from the kitchen. 

Lena scratched her nail at the corner of her lipstick and grinned at herself in the mirror, satisfied. 

She toed into red-bottomed heels and sauntered out into the living room.

“Ho-ly _ shit _ ,” she exhaled at the sight of the blonde. 

Kara, who was leaned up against the kitchen counter and still looking down at her shoes when Lena clicked into sight, smirked up at her. Her eyes widened in turn at the sight of Lena, but Lena wasn’t paying any mind to that. No, she was still focused on the thumbs tucked into Kara’s pockets. 

_ Her pockets _ . 

Kara had gone all out for the event with a slim-fitted, shimmery midnight blue tuxedo. Pant legs tapered snugly around her calves, stopping just short of her ankles. An undone bow tie hung loosely around the collar of her dress shirt, the shirt itself unbuttoned  _ indecently  _ to her navel. The inner curve of her breasts were just visible in the opening at her front revealing that she was most definitely not wearing a bra.

Lena had been a fan of this look before, but on her girlfriend it took on a whole other level. 

Lena trailed her focus up the blonde’s body to her hair, falling loosely over her shoulders, her lips, a much darker shade than her usual barest hint of color, and her eyes, pupils expanding under thick, darkened lashes. 

Kara pushed off of the ledge and closed their distance, her hands landing solidly on Lena’s hips. “So, bad news,” Kara started, her focus dragging down Lena’s curves. “They actually canceled the banquet... Looks like we’re just going to have to stay here… A shame, really.”

Lena laughed softly, still not meeting Kara’s eyes, both her tone and her gaze remaining low. “Don’t play if you don’t want me to hold you to that…” She slid a warm palm into the opening of Kara’s shirt and up to the top of her ribs. “ _ Fuck,  _ Kara,” she breathed out.

Kara arched into the contact, just barely. She smirked down at her, drawing Lena in further by the waist and murmuring into her ear. “Mmm, I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t my intention... but we really  _ do _ need to go.”

Lena finally met Kara’s eyes, staring darkly. Her free hand wound up to the back of Kara’s neck, fingers tangling into the hair there. She tightened her grip briefly as she used her other hand to thumb over a peaked nipple. “Are you sure about that?” She challenged lowly, amused at Kara’s resulting hiss. 

“ _ Lena _ ,” Kara warned half-heartedly. 

“Yes, love?” Lena used her grip to bring Kara closer to her and trail up her neck.

“You’re teasing,” she exhaled.

“I’m aware,” Lena whispered into her ear, darting a tongue up the shell.

“You can’t be teasin’,” she laughed shakily.

“And why’s that?” Lena asked, feathering a kiss the corner of her jaw.

Kara separated them, holding Lena firmly, but at a distance. She dropped her voice further, with promise. “Because if you don’t stop, I would hate to put all of that hair and makeup to waste.”

“Mmm,” Lena hummed, “How about a raincheck on that?”

“As if you have to ask,” Kara smiled. 

Lena dropped her keys and phone into a small clutch and zipped it closed. Kara held out her elbow for Lena to take, but instead Lena slid her hand through the loop and downwards, pulling Kara’s hand into her own as they went. 

“So a fancy Kara Danvers…” Lena grinned as they exited the building. “... does not disappoint. It’s kind of making me wish that I hadn’t listened to your sister. I feel underdressed.”

Kara chuckled, whistling. “If this is you underdressed, then I may be more out of my league than I’d thought.”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Lena quirked, eyes sparking in the street lights. 

“Seriously,” Kara turned to her, her face completely sincere. She squeezed Lena’s fingers, spinning at a ring there. “You look beautiful, baby.”

Lena cheeks warmed at the praise. “Thank you, Kara.”

“You’re very welcome,” Kara grinned, facing back to the sidewalk ahead of them and tensing. 

Confused at the sudden change in her demeanor, Lena glanced at the sidewalk ahead of them, finding a familiar face. She gripped Kara’s hand tighter and led them forward. 

“Jack,” she greeted kindly as he neared them, both sides pulling to a stop. He was dressed in a plain tee shirt and jeans and carried a small paper bag. She waited for him to respond, letting him set the tone for how to proceed. 

“Lena, hi,” he called jovially, giving Lena a quick peck to her cheek. “Kara, good to see you again,” he nodded, giving them both the once over. “Lord, you both look absolutely stunning!” 

Kara received an encouraging nod from Lena and gave him her best smile, the one that scrunched her eyes. “Hey Jack, thanks, we were just on our way to an end-of-year thing,” she explained as she gestured between the two women and slid her hand across Lena’s back.

Jack’s eyes darted to the movement, but he didn’t mention it, simply smiling tightly and nodding.

“How have you been?” Lena asked, fending off any awkward silence. “It’s been a while.”

“It has, yeah!” He exhaled. “You’re actually catching me on the rare night in town. Traveling for work nonstop it feels like, but that’s about to be over.”

“Yeah, I know how that goes,” Lena laughed.

“Right, yeah, I suppose you would,” he said, ruffling his hair and looking down at his feet. 

“But you’ve been good?” Lena asked sincerely. 

“Yep,” he said softly. “Settled into my new flat, work is settling down. I’m even thinking about getting a dog,” he laughed.

“Ooo, what kind of dog?” Kara asked excitedly.

He looked to her and shook his head, grinning. “I dunno! I guess we’ll see what little guy needs a good home.”

“Well if you ever need a dog sitter let me know!”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Kara,” Jack smiled, looking between the two. “And you two? Ready to be done with school for the year, I expect.”

“Yeah, we’ve been good,” Lena replied simply, looking into Kara’s eyes and softening. “Hey Jack, we really do need to get going, but Kara, could you just give us one minute?”

Kara rubbed her back with a quiet  _ sure _ and walked up the block, pausing at a small wooden bench outside of a restaurant glass front. 

Lena and Jack watched her go, turning back to one another. 

“You look happy, love,” Jack murmured. “Sorry, I maybe shouldn’t call you that anymore, huh?”

“It’s okay,” she waved him off, looking back to where Kara was sitting and dancing her feet across the pavement. She sighed. “I really am though. Happy. She makes me so  _ stupidly  _ happy. Is that terrible of me to say to you?”

“Of course not,” he reassured, placing his hand on her shoulder momentarily before retracting. “I’m glad to hear it, honestly. That’s all I wanted for you.”

Lena surveyed him and touched his cheek. “Thank you, Jack. You’re a good man.”

“Ah well you know, I  _ do  _ try,” he laughed ducking his head out of the contact.

“Mm, and you? You’re really okay?”

“I am,” he promised. “I had a rough few months but things have been turning around. I’ve even started dating a bit. Did you know there’s like ten apps now? It’s ridiculous.”

“That sounds about right ,” Lena chuckled. “I hope that works out for you.”

“Ah, don’t worry about me. With this accent and devilishly handsome face? I’ll be okay,” he grinned. 

“The women of National City won’t know what hit them,” Lena agreed.

“That’s the plan.”

Lena looked back over her shoulder at her waiting date. “Well... it really was good to see you, but we should get going, and I wouldn’t want your food to get cold.”

“It’s a salad, so I kind of hope so,” he smirked.

“Goodnight, Jack,” Lena said with an eye roll. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“Goodnight, Lena,” she heard behind her. “G’night, Kara!” He yelled louder down the street. 

When Lena approached Kara, the blonde was watching her with a small smile on her face. A gentle rhythm filtered out from the piano playing within the restaurant behind her. 

Lena extended her hand out to Kara. “May I have this dance?”

Kara grinned and stood, holding Lena at the waist. Lena stepped in close to wrap her arms around Kara’s neck, turning her head to the side to keep from smearing her makeup across Kara’s collar. They moved in silence for a beat.

“Everything okay?” she asked into Lena’s hair, swaying them slightly with the music.

“Yeah,” Lena said quietly. “Everything is perfect.” Lena pulled back just enough to press her lips slowly to Kara’s and stare softly into the blues of her eyes as they rocked from side to side. “I love you,” she mouthed.

Kara whispered back, “Love you too, baby, so much.” Kara pulled at Lena’s hand, spinning her out slowly and reeling her back in so that Lena’s back was to her, bringing Lena’s hand up to kiss the back of her knuckles.

Lena spun in her grip and returned to their original position. Kara leant down to rest her forehead against Lena’s. 

Lena gazed back into her eyes, watching the lights play off of them and reached up to swipe Kara’s hair back from her forehead, tucking a strand behind her ear, a smile pulling at her lips. “We’re going to be late.”

“They can wait,” Kara said quietly, pulling Lena in closer. “This is exactly where I want to be right now.”

Before long, the pianist stood for his break and the music ended. 

Lena thanked her with a final kiss before the pair stepped back and glanced up the sidewalk towards the event.

“I guess we should get going, huh?” Kara whispered, re-capturing Lena’s hand. “With me?”

Lena smiled and nudged her shoulder as they walked. “With you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Made it!
> 
> Finishing this is a good feeling. I've never tried anything like this but it's been a fun, humbling experience (even though writing has absolutely taken over all of my free time for the past six weeks). So much respect to the writers out there that can crank out fic after fic, because it's tough. I would love to continue writing if inspiration hits again, but tbd at this point. Feel free to hmu with any prompts.
> 
> Anyways, y'all are great. Thank you to everyone who has read, kudo'd, or left comments to encourage me along the way of this self-indulgent story! 
> 
> As always, I hope you have a great day!  
\-- elizabeth  
@bdelizabeth


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